Renew My Soul
by beatlechicksteph
Summary: The immediate aftermath of Dean being sent to Hell is traumatic for Sam. While he is drowning his sorrows and trying to figure out what to do next, he meets an interesting person who may be the key to helping him heal.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! So, this is what I've been working on a lot lately! If you're a fan of No Hero, that is my NaNo this year, it will be finished in November, so don't worry! It's not abandoned. If you're new, this story is complete! I wrote it for Hermione Haven's Big Bang, and so it is 100% complete, and I'll upload a new chapter every day until it is all uploaded. So, I hope you enjoy!**

 **Thank you Silver1226 for being my beta for this fic.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or Supernatural, so please don't sue me.**

Sam frowned as he laid on the couch in Bobby's living room. He couldn't sleep. Again. Not that it was out of the ordinary for him these days, but that didn't mean it sucked any less. It had been hard for him to sleep ever since he had to bury Dean a few weeks ago. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Dean getting dragged to Hell by those hellhounds, hear his screams. It meant that he was obviously not getting any sleep. And he was starting to feel it. Hard. Maybe he needed to leave Bobby's and get back on the road. Find something to fill his time with. But what?

Did he really want to hunt again, alone? He thought about Dean's Impala, his _father_ 's Impala just hanging out in Bobby's yard. It pained him to think that their car would just sit there forever, rotting away. But it pained him even more to think about driving it around without his brother.

He sighed, sitting up from his position on the couch. There was no way he was going to get to sleep tonight. He might as well stop pretending. He rubbed his chin where he was starting to sport a beard to rival Bobby's. He stood up to make his way to the bathroom. The house was dark and quiet, the only light was what the moon gave off as it shone through the window. As he padded his way through the house he noticed that there was a light on upstairs. He frowned. He thought for sure Bobby was already asleep, and had been that way for a while.

He walked toward the stairs. He stopped at the foot of the stairs when he heard Bobby's voice speaking softly to someone. He strained to try and make out what he was saying, but couldn't pick out any specific words. He briefly contemplated moving further up the stairs, to see if he could hear anything. But decided not to risk it. It wasn't worth it. He moved away from the stairs and continued his way down the hall toward his original destination. He would talk to Bobby about it in the morning.

SUPERPOTTER

Sam stirred from the couch. He didn't remember falling asleep and he was sure he was going to pay for it later. He always felt worse when he got some sleep. He groaned, and tried to roll over the best he could, but his frame was much too large for the couch, so it wasn't easy for him to maneuver.

"You know you don't have to sleep on the couch, Sam," he heard Bobby say from behind him.

He sat up, rubbing his hand down his face. "I know," he replied. "But I just can't go up to our room. It just…it would be really empty."

Bobby sighed, sitting himself down in an armchair. "I know. I know this is hard. I miss him like hell, I can't imagine how you're feeling. Did you get any sleep last night?"

Sam shrugged. "I think I got an hour or so."

Bobby nodded. "Listen, you know I love having you around, and you are welcome to stay as long as you want."

"But…" Sam started.

"Last night I got a phone call. It was from an organization back east called MACUSA. They're, well- _shit_. I really don't know how to explain any of this to you."

Sam sat up straighter on the couch. It was the first time he felt interested in anything in weeks. "Try."

Bobby sighed, "MACUSA stands for the Magical Congress of the United States of America."

"Magical Congress?" Sam asked.

"Sam, I need you to listen to me carefully. I need you to set aside everything you know, and keep an open mind."

Sam took a deep breath, but still nodded.

"I know that you're familiar with one type of magic, with one type of witch. The kind that comes with demonic ties. But there is other magic out there. Magic that is not tied to selling your soul to a demon. Magic that has been around basically since the beginning of time. This magic it's, uh, it's genetic."

Sam leaned forward in his seat. "Genetic witches? I've never heard of anything like that. There's nothing like that in Dad's journal."

"Yeah, I hadn't either until shortly before you came here. I got a phone call from MACUSA asking if I would be able to help them with a problem. I was skeptical until one of their law enforcement officers showed up here and demonstrated their magic, and it's nothing like anything I have ever seen before. They have to channel their magic through wands in order to effectively use their magic."

Sam scoffed and shook his head, his hair moving around his face. "Wands? Do you know how ridiculous this sounds?"

Bobby chuckled. "I know, Sam. I know. I could hardly believe it myself. But then she came here and she showed me what she could do. And it was pretty impressive."

"How come we've never heard of these people before?"

"Something about a statute of secrecy. They're not allowed to reveal themselves to non-magical people."

Sam cocked his head. "If they're not allowed to reveal themselves to non-magical people, how come they called you?"

Bobby sighed. "Our reputations proceed ourselves. MACUSA has been aware of us for a while. They have been following hunters and what they do, just in case they catch wind of a witch or wizard and mistake them for a demon made witch and try to kill them. So naturally, they've been keeping an eye on you and Dean. Well, they need our help. Something has come up that they need the assistance of a hunter with."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure. When they called and visited before, I told them that I couldn't help. That you and Dean were busy trying to keep him from…well you know. And with the destruction of the Roadhouse last year, there really isn't a centralized location for hunters right now. Well, word has gotten back to them about Dean, and they called again last night, begging for our help. I told them that I would talk to you."

Sam sighed, leaning back into the couch. Non-demon made witches? A secret magical world? And they needed his help? Could he help them? Could he hunt without Dean? That was the real question, wasn't it? Could he do it without his brother?

"I don't know, Bobby. What exactly do they need us to do? What could they possibly need our help with?"

Bobby shrugged again. "I don't know, exactly. They said they would be sending a representative later today to talk to us. This representative is who will be working closely with us as we do whatever it is they need help with. They were being very secretive, and they kept shouting in my ear. I don't know if they know how phones work."

Sam shook his head. "What do you think, Bobby?"

"I think that you need something to live for again," he said bluntly. "You've been on my couch for a few weeks now, and you're not shaving. You're not sleeping, and I don't even know if you're eating. You can't go on like this. You need something to help you remember who you are."

"But I don't know if I can do this alone. Without Dean."

"You're not going to be doing this alone. I'm here. And you'll have this magical guy working with you for a bit. I know he won't be Dean, but at least you won't be out on the road alone."

"How do you know it's a guy?"

"Because I don't think they would send a woman out on the road alone with you with your and your brother's "love 'em and leave 'em" reputations across the country."

Sam laughed. "They really know all of that about us?"

"I'm guessing they do. They knew quite a bit."

"Do you have any books or anything around here that we can read to familiarize ourselves with these genetic witches?"

Bobby shrugged. "I honestly don't know. But you're free to look."

"Thanks, Bobby," Sam said, rising from his spot on the couch. As he moved to the library, Bobby couldn't help but smile. It wasn't much, but he was starting to see some of the old Sam starting to poke through. Just a bit.

SUPERPOTTER

Sam closed his eyes, running his hands down his face. He had spent the last two hours scouring books, and he hadn't found one thing about genetic witches. Their statute of secrecy must be really fucking good. Not one word in any book about them. If Bobby hadn't said he had met one and seen what they could do in person, he would think they were just a legend. A story. Like an actual legend and story, not a legend and story that they usually encountered. He didn't like the idea of this wizard coming here and catching him unprepared.

He stood from the couch and went back to the bookshelves, trying to see if he could find anything, anything at all, about these people. He looked over at Bobby's computer. Maybe he could find something on the Internet? Then he shook his head. If he couldn't find anything in books, he probably wouldn't be finding anything online. They seemed to keep any references to themselves out of sight. He wondered if they had a spell or something to help them with that. Then he started wondering if he'd ever met one without knowing it. It was possible. If they really blended in as well as they seemed to, he very well could have made friends with one and not known it. Could any of his fellow hunters be one?

He shook his head, banishing those thoughts. He would have known if a fellow hunter was a witch or wizard, they would have done something he couldn't explain. He was about to move back to the couch and lay on it until further notice, he was exhausted, when there was a knock on the door. He frowned and looked around. Bobby had run into town to pick up a few things so they would have food for when their visitor arrived. When they called, MACUSA didn't say when their representative would be here, but Bobby was pretty sure they would be here by dinner time.

Sam moved to the door, and opened it. He took a step back in surprise. Standing in front of him was a woman, who looked to be about the same age as him. She stood about a foot shorter than him, and her dark hair was pulled back in a severe bun. Her tailored black pantsuit clung to her curves, but the jacket flowed outward in a way that he had never seen a suit jacket do before. It was almost like she was wearing a robe…

"Hello? Can I help you?" Sam asked, suspiciously.

"Ah, yes, are you Bobby Singer?" she asked, her posh British accent taking him by surprise.

"Um, no, he's actually out right now. Can I help you?"

She smiled widely. "Oh, you must be Sam Winchester, then. I had heard to expect you here as well." She extended her hand then. "I'm Hermione Granger, I'm pretty sure MACUSA told you to expect me."

Sam took her offered hand, and shook it. This was who MACUSA sent to work with him? She was definitely not what he was expecting. And not just because she was a woman. She was so petite. So proper. Unlike any hunters he had ever encountered. And he was expected to work with her? On what? Paperwork? He didn't know what she was going to be selling, but he decided in that moment, he would not be buying.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Hermione smiled as Sam hesitantly took her hand, shaking it. She could tell that she wasn't quite what he expected. She wondered if there were even any female hunters or if everyone in this line of work was men. She hoped not, because it would be a long however long they worked together if she had to continuously prove herself to him. She had come too far to be treated like some fragile damsel in distress and kept from the action.

He released her hand, and then just stood there. He was looking at her like he didn't know what to do next. He kept looking from her to behind him and back again.

"May I come in?" she asked. "I didn't exactly dress like a Muggle, so it would probably be best if I didn't continue to stand here on the stoop for everyone to see and begin speculating."

"Oh!" Sam said, snapping to attention. "Yeah, I'm sorry. Please, come in. Um, Bobby isn't here right now, he's out."

Hermione walked into the house, shutting the door behind her. "That's alright, I'm sure you have many questions that I can answer before Bobby gets here."

She followed Sam into the sitting room and then just stood there. Sam had gone back to being not completely present. He was standing awkwardly next to the couch, and trying to not stare at her. She had to stifle a laugh. When the head of the Department of Muggle Relations at MACUSA briefed her on the American Hunter, she was told that there were witches out in the open who gained their powers through a deal with a demon. Those witches were hunted and killed by hunters. It was a big reason to continue the strict no-muggle contact the American witches and wizards had observed for centuries. Don't want to risk getting too close to a muggle only to show some magic and find out the muggle is a hunter and wind up dead. This must be why Sam was so uncomfortable around her. He was used to evil witches.

She took the opportunity to get a good look at Sam. He was tall, about a foot taller than herself. His dark hair was on the long side, falling just around his ears. And he looked sad. Which made sense, during her briefing she was told that he had just recently lost his hunting partner and brother. He was holed up in Singer's house grieving. Which made him the ideal person to help her out. He needed help to deal with his grief, and he was the best there was. Plus, Bobby Singer was one of the best researchers and helped run a lot of the cover operations for the hunters, so she would be in good hands for her mission. After getting an eye full of Sam Winchester, she was certain she would be in very good hands indeed.

She absentmindedly rubbed her finger where up until a couple months ago she wore her wedding band. She felt a little guilty checking out a man when her divorce hadn't been finalized yet, but then visions of the reason she was getting divorced popped into the forefront of her mind, and she immediately shook those guilty feelings off. She was human, and there was a very attractive man in front of her, she was allowed to look at him.

"Um," she spoke up again.

Sam jumped, like he had forgotten she was even there. "Oh, I'm sorry, why don't we take a seat," he said, gesturing toward the couch.

Hermione took a seat on the couch, and in a move that completely surprised her, Sam took the seat right next to her, turning his body so that he faced her.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione, was it?" at her nod, he continued. "I haven't been sleeping well the last few weeks, so I sometimes go off into this daze every once in a while. I'll try to stop that from happening too often during our conversation."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I know what it's like to go on very little sleep. If you agree to go on this mission with me, I can give you something to help you sleep at night, if you would like?"

Sam gave her half a smile. "I'll think about it."

Hermione returned his smile. "Please, do."

"So, uh, you're a witch? Like a genetic witch?" Sam asked, effectively changing the subject.

"I am."

"So, your parents were witches, and they had you, so you're a witch, and when you have kids, they'll be witches?"

"Well, not exactly. I'm what is known as a muggleborn. Which means my parents were muggles, and I had a genetic anomoly to make me a witch. So I was born and raised in your world, but moved into the wizarding world when I was eleven."

"Eleven? That's such an odd age."

"That's when you can start going to Hogwarts, the wizarding school. So right before it was time for me to go to school the headmaster and one of the professors came to my house, sat my parents and me down, and explained everything to us."

"Was it hard to believe?"

Hermione shook her head. "It was actually a bit of a relief. I had been exhibiting some accidental magic for a few years, so to find out why was a bit relieving to us."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I can imagine. So, Bobby says you control your magic through a magic wand?"

Hermione laughed. "Basically. I can do a few spells wandlessly, but for the most part, I use this." She flicked her right wrist and the wand came out of her arm holster and into her hand. "This is my wand. Every wizard and witch must visit the wandmaker before Hogwarts where they are chosen by their wand. This is mine. Vine with a dragon heartstring core. This was my first wand, and after a brief separation, we were reunited. Losing it was like losing a limb. I was very fortunate that an acquaintance was able to find it and return it to me."

"How did you lose it?"

"I would rather not talk about that right now, if that's alright."

"Of course," Sam said immediately. "I get not wanting about talk about things that have caused us pain."

"Yes, well, maybe if we get to know each other a little better and we are no longer strangers I'll tell you, but right now, I just want to glaze over intimate details."

"Well, if we're going to be hunting partners, we won't be strangers for long."

She looked up from her wand to see him actually giving her a smile. She easily returned it. She could instantly feel any tension that was between them start to melt away, just slightly. Which was good, because if they were going to be working together, they would need to be comfortable with one another.

"You're right, we won't be. Anyway, you wanted to see some magic, so I'll show you some magic." She turned and pointed her wand at a book that was sitting on the coffee table. " _Wingardium Leviosa_ ," she said with a flourish of her wand, easily levitating the book about a foot from the table before lowering it back down.

"Wow," Sam said, not taking his eyes off the book. "You can do parlor tricks with latin."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Sam. She flicked her wand. " _Avis Opungo,"_ as the birds flew out of her wand, she aimed them at Sam's head. He cried out as they dive bombed him, pecking at his face and neck. She stifled a giggle as he flailed his arms trying to stave off the attacking birds. After a few minutes she took pity on the man, and cast _Finite_. The birds quickly disappeared, leaving a glaring Sam. Hermione smiled. "Parlor tricks?"

"Fine. I'm sorry for calling what you do a parlor trick. But did you really need to have birds attack my head?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's my go to hex when I'm annoyed at someone. Sorry."

Sam rubbed at his cheek. "I'll try to remember that before I annoy you next time."

"I was trying to prove a point. Next time you annoy me, I'll just do the typical silent treatment."

Sam smiled. "I appreciate that. So what other types of spells are there? And do you always need to say the spell out loud in order for it to work?"

"There are lots of spells, I would be here all day explaining every single one in detail. I'm sure you'll see several of them in the field. There are housekeeping spells. There are defensive and offensive spells. There are summoning spells, and healing spells. The ones we'll probably be using the most would be unlocking and door opening spells. I have a feeling those will be useful as we go."

"Wait, you have a spell to open locked doors?"

Hermione nodded.

A large grin spread across Sam's face. "Would it work on things like handcuffs?"

"Of course, it's just a basic unlocking spell, it's not specific to doors."

"Do you need a wand all the time?"

"No, there are a few spells I can perform wandlessly, the unlocking spell one of them. And to answer your previous question, I can do a few non-verbal spells, the unlocking spell is one of those."

"This is amazing. This will change everything. If you can open doors with the whisper of a spell and the flick of a wand, the chances of us getting caught while trying to pick a lock go way down. And if we get captured, trying to get free from restraints will be much easier."

"Hopefully. I haven't been tied up in a long time. So I may be a little rusty trying to get out of restraints if we're tied up in rope, but we're good if we're cuffed."

Sam was quiet for a second, and Hermione watched as millions of questions seemed to flash in his eyes. She could tell that they were a lot alike. Very academic minded. "Since you have your wand, are you trained to fight, like physically?"

Hermione shook her head. "Unfortunately I'm not."

"What about a gun? A lot of what we'll encounter out there can only be killed with specific bullets. DO you know how to shoot a gun?"

Again, Hermione shook her head. "I have no bloody idea how to use a gun. This is a large reason why MACUSA decided we should really pair up with hunters. Witches and wizards are really unprepared to go out into the muggle world and deal with all of the monsters out there specific to it. We have our own creatures that go bump in the night, but they're a much different breed. We can deal with them with magic. I honestly have no idea where to even begin with what we'll encounter."

"MACUSA hasn't prepared you?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not really. I just came into the states two nights ago. They filled me on you and Mr. Singer. And then they sent me here when they had confirmation from Mr. Singer that you both would be willing to help. Prior to coming here, I tried to do some research, but wizarding research books in the UK are severely lacking in information for muggle supernatural beings in North America."

"Wait, you just came into the states two nights ago? What exactly is going on? I thought this was directly through this MACUSA thing. Why wouldn't they just send one of their own people?" 

Hermione sighed. "I would really prefer that I only had to explain this one time. But, it's actually a matter that is directly related to the British wizarding community. We had to go through MACUSA because we are encroaching on their jurisdiction and need permission to apprehend our suspect, or suspects, we're not completely certain, ourselves. Since I'm head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the UK, I was sent to take care of this. Since not only am I not combat trained, I'm more of the legal side of things, it was determined due to the nature of the case I would be paired up with American hunters to make sure I'm not killed. Because apparently that will be 'too much unnecessary paperwork.'"

"And they chose Bobby and I because we're considered the best."

"Yes."

Sam brought his hands up to his eyes, drawing them down his face. "This isn't going to be as fun as I thought it would be. This is actually going to be fucking hard. You have virtually no knowledge about the things we'll be hunting, no experience in physical combat or with any of the weapons we'll need to use. What do you do for your law enforcement?"

"I'm the equivalent of a solicitor, or lawyer, like you say here in the states."

"Why the fuck would they send a _lawyer_ out into the field?" Sam yelled, frustration obvious in his voice.

"Because I'm the best. And it's my case that I've been working on for almost a decade, and it's the first fucking lead we've gotten in a long time, and I need to bring these people in for myself, so I can stop losing sleep over it!" Hermione basically shouted back.

"Why is it so important that you personally bring them in? You could just let someone else who knows what they're doing do it. Doing it yourself is just putting all of us in danger since you don't know what you're doing."

"Because one of them tried to kill me when I was sixteen and I was tortured at the other one's feet in his bloody drawing room!" Hermione basically screamed. She could feel the tears prickling at the back of her eyes. "That is why. I _need_ to do this. And if you're not going to help me, I'll find someone else who will."

She looked over at Sam, who was for his credit, looking well and truly shamed. He couldn't even meet her eyes. He was concentrating really hard at his hands.

"I'm sorry," he muttered quietly. "I had no idea. I shouldn't have pushed. Obviously you and your group know what you're doing."

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry for my outburst," she whispered, swiping at her eyes. "It's been a decade since the war, and it's still raw. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday."

"War?"

Before Hermione could answer the door to the front of the house opened, and a middle aged man with a full beard and baseball cap came into the room. He must be Mr. Singer. He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed Hermione and Sam sitting awkwardly next to each other.

"Well, shit. What'd I miss?"


	3. Chapter 3

It didn't take long for Hermione to fill Bobby in on everything she had already told Sam. Since she wasn't really saying anything new yet, Sam didn't make it a point to listen completely to what she was saying. Instead his mind was back on what she had yelled at him prior to Bobby returning. She had been attacked and tortured. In a war that he had no idea about. He just kept wracking his brain for wars that had occurred in the UK about ten years ago, but he was coming up blank. Which meant it was probably a war that non-magical people were not aware of. Maybe she did have some combat training after all?

He looked at her attire once more. She had pointed out that she didn't dress like a muggle, which is what he assumed were non-magical people. Did she even have normal clothes? Because living out of the car and in bad motels would start getting very uncomfortable while wearing that robe thing. This whole situation was starting to make him very conflicted. On the one hand, the idea of going out hunting again, continuing the family business without Dean, was very unappealing. He didn't want to do it. On the other hand…he glanced at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She seemed nice enough, and it would be really interesting to go hunt with someone with magic. It would add a new level to the hunt. And it didn't hurt that she was pretty easy on the eyes. Hunting with her would definitely be different from hunting with Dean, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

He felt a tug on his sleeve and he looked over. Hermione was looking at him with a small smile on her face.

"I'm about to explain everything about the case if you would like to pay attention now," she said with a smile.

Sam returned her smile. The first time he's felt like genuinely smiling in weeks. Her smile was just that contagious. "Yeah, sorry. I was spacing out there for a second."

"It's okay, I was just catching up Mr. Singer on what I've told you. But now I'm going to get into some specifics."

"Bobby."

She and Sam both turned to look at Bobby, who had seated himself in an armchair.

"What?" Hermione said.

"Bobby. If we're going to work together, there's going to be none of this Mr. Singer business."

"Okay, Bobby."

Sam had to stifle a smile. Hearing Bobby's name in Hermione's British accent was pretty amusing. It sounded almost unnatural.

"Now," Hermione started again. "The reason I'm here. I'll need to back up a bit to give you a little background so you can understand a little bit more." She took a deep breath. "In the '90s there was a war in the wizarding community in the UK. A very dark wizard tried to take over the wizarding world. The best way for me to describe him and his beliefs is to compare him to Hitler. He believed in a Pureblood, that's witches and wizards who were born to other witches and wizards, World. People like me, we were not only considered inferior, but were thought to have stolen our magic. In the last year of the war, muggleborns were rounded up, and brought in for questioning, and then were held without cause.

"This war was known as the Second Wizarding War. The first happened in the 70's and 80's when Voldemort, the dark wizard, was at his height. The war was looking pretty bleak. He gained a large following. And then there was a prophecy. And my best friend, who was only eighteen months at the time, ended up defeating him. At least that's what everyone thought. When we were in school, he came back, and since I was best friends with the person who would defeat him, I was also a target.

"In our fifth year we went to the Ministry because my friend had a vision of his godfather in trouble. We walked into a trap, and I almost died. I was sixteen. Two years later, we found ourselves on the run, living in a tent, stealing food to survive. During that year, I was tortured. I was only eighteen. The war ended and Voldemort was defeated. We haave spent a long time gathering up all of his followers, but it's been hard.

"There are two men who have been consistently evading arrest for the last decade. Their names are Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov. They are the reason I'm here. They have been trying in vain to reignite the war. They've been largely unsuccessful in Britain. However, we have reason to believe they have moved here and are trying to gain alliances with the supernatural beings over here. From what I can tell, in the UK we don't have any of the creatures you have over here. Therefore, they're probably making a lot of promises that they will be able to keep. I'm here to apprehend these men, and prevent whatever it is they're planning."

Hermione finished speaking, and Bobby and Sam exchanged looks. With everything going on with Dean and Lilith, they hadn't really had their typical ears to the ground. With the Roadhouse in ashes, and hunters dispersed, they didn't have as close contact with everyone as they used to. He couldn't remember if he had heard anything about two men who were trying to rally the troops so to speak. But if they were, that was probably a very bad thing. If they gathered enough monsters, it could devastate the magic population. It would be deadly.

"Do you have any leads?" Sam asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No, and that's what's been so frustrating. Once they moved over here, we have had a hard time tracking them down. MACUSA doesn't want to be involved, and that makes it even harder. They pride themselves with the fact that Voldemort's influence did not reach this far during either war, when it was all through Europe. They kept their hands clean as we fought and died. They don't want to create any mass panic in their community, so they have done absolutely nothing to try and find Malfoy or Dolohov."

"And why your country has sent a lawyer over to try and take care of this," Sam said.

"Pretty much. The only thing they have given us is you guys. They told us they could match us up with some hunters who are familiar with the monsters, but that's all they could do. And they wouldn't permit us to bring any Aurors, or magical police officers, with us. So it was decided that I would be sent, since it sounded like hunters could be like Aurors. What did MACUSA tell you, Bobby on the phone?"

Bobby sighed. "Well, they called a few weeks ago asking if we would help on a case. They sent a representative out who revealed their magic to me. But I told them we couldn't help. We were too busy dealing with other matters. Last night they called again, and said that they were desperate, and so I agreed. They said they were sending you out as soon as possible."

"SO you're even more in the dark than I am," Hermione said.

Bobby nodded. "Yes ma'am. But I think we could be able to help. I think it would be good for Sam here to get back out in the business. Now, hunting monsters is dangerous business. Are you prepared for this?"

Hermione laughed. "Absolutely not," she said. "But I'm going to need to be. What typically happens on this job?"

"Well," Sam said. "We do a lot of scanning of papers and news stories around the country looking for anything out of the usual. We then go and check it out to see if these strange stories are because of a supernatural presence, or just bad luck."

"So you just drive around the country looking for weird shit," Hermione said.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, pretty much." 

"Is there any way to find out if there's two strange British men trying to convince monsters to come across the pond and murder all the magical people who live there?"

Sam shook his head. "We can put out an alert to the other hunters to keep their ears to the ground. When we stumble across other monsters before we ice them we can interrogate them and find out what they know. But if you don't have any leads, this is the best we can do until we start finding our own leads."

Hermione nodded. "So, there's not an estimated time frame for this being done, is there?"

Bobby shook his head. "Unfortunately there isn't. But listen. You'll go out with Sam here. I'll stay here and make sure to keep you both updated if I hear anything from other hunters. And if you run into any trouble that you don't think the two of you can handle, you stay put. I'll come out and help you. I don't want you two putting yourselves in any danger that you can prevent. I'm not losing anyone else."

Silence fell between the three of them. Hermione had heard rumblings about the loss of Sam's brother recently, but she hadn't heard any specifics. She could tell that the wound was still open and raw by the looks the two men shared. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Sam was feeling. If she understood correctly, this was a job that took all your time. The two of them probably spent the majority of their time together. Very similar to what she experienced with Harry and Ron during that final year of the war. Except his brother was blood family. Her heart ached for him.

She decided she needed to change the subject before it got any sadder in the room. "So, we drive around the country trying to find cases. Will I need to do any of this driving? Because, I hate to tell you this, but I don't know how."

That did it. The moroseness that had settled upon the room let up and Bobby and Sam both let out loud laughter.

"I thought you came from a non-magical family? You never learned to drive?" Sam asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I never felt the need. We have what the muggles would call teleportation, and other means of travel, so I just never felt the need to learn to drive."

"Woah," Bobby said. "Back up here for a minute. Teleportation?"

Hermione laughed. "Yeah, I just close my eyes, picture my destination and poof! I can go there. Of course, it's more ideal for short distances, and you have to be familiar with your destination. If you can't properly envision it, it could be very dangerous."

"Did you teleport here?" Sam asked.

"Not really. I actually flew in a muggle airplane from London to New York. And then MACUSA gave me a portkey to travel from their headquarters to here. A portkey is another form of teleportation, except instead of needing to know where you're going and visualize it, an object is charmed to take you where you need to go. You just touch it and it takes you there."

Sam and Bobby were looking at her like she invented the method.

"So, since you've now been here, you can teleport here without needing a charmed object?" Sam asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes."

"Are you also able to take other people with you when you teleport?" Bobby asked.

Hermione nodded. "I am."

"This is starting to make me feel a lot better about this," Bobby said. "Between your magic and Sam's skills, you both may be able to survive this."

"That's the hope," Hermione said. "The goal is to survive long enough to catch Malfoy and Dolohov and finally put all this nonsense behind us."

Sam nodded. "Sounds like a reasonable goal. Something that I'm sure we'll be able to handle."

Hermione smiled. "So you're in? You'll help me?"

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, sure. I mean, I can't spend the rest of my life moping on this couch. It'll be a great excuse to shave."

Hermione looked at him, with his scruffy several days old beard, and shrugged with a smirk. "I don't know, I think you look fine."

Her smile widened as she watched Sam's face turn red as he looked down at his hands. She heard Bobby laugh in the background, but she didn't take her eyes off of Sam. She had to admit that he was pretty attractive. She absentmindedly played with her bare ring finger again, before turning her head away. Now was not the time to even consider such things. Especially with someone she was going to have to be working with closely over the next who knows how long.

She decided to put Sam out of his misery and change the subject. "When will you be ready to hit the road?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, we should probably do some research before we leave. Give us a direction to head in."

Hermione nodded. "Okay, so we'll do some research. I came here with nothing, because I didn't want to make any assumptions. So let me go back to New York, grab my stuff, and I'll be back in a couple hours. I have to make a couple arrangements back home. I need someone to keep an eye on my cat while I'm away."

"You have a cat?" Sam asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, he's getting up there in age so he's kind of crotchety but he likes my friend Harry well enough, so he should be fine. I may have to pop back every once in a while if this takes longer than I think Harry and his family could tolerate him."

Sam nodded. "Alright, so you go take care of what you need to take care of and we'll start to get a little research done to see if we can't find a lead on these two men."

"Sounds like a plan," she said, standing up. "I'll see you both in a little bit."

And, because she was feeling the most optimistic about catching these rogue Death Eaters she had in a long time, she winked at Sam before turning on the spot and disapparating.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam stared at the spot where just seconds ago Hermione had been standing. Even after everything she had told them, and had demonstrated, nothing was more impressive than watching her completely vanish before his eyes.

"Well, I'll be damned." He heard Bobby say. "She really teleported."

"What the hell have we just agreed to, Bobby?" Sam asked, still staring at the spot she had just left.

"I don't know, but I'm not sure I care. It's caused you to decide to go out and start living again, and that's good enough for me."

Sam gave half a smile. "Yeah, I mean, I'm still a little leery about going out without Dean, but I have to admit, I'm pretty excited to go out and figure this out."

"And it doesn't hurt that you'll be going out with a cute girl," Bobby teased.

Sam rolled his eyes and turned red. "Really? I didn't notice," he said, standing from the couch and moving through the house. He moved toward where Bobby had his bank of phones. He picked up the directory Bobby kept there and began flipping through it.

"Oh, you didn't notice, did you?" Bobby replied, the smirk evident in his voice. "What are you doing?"

Sam shrugged. "Trying to figure out who we should reach out to first."

Bobby sighed. "Why don't you get on the computer and see if you can find anything out of the normal in the country. I'll make my way through the hunters. I'll put an APB out on these wizards, and tell anyone if they hear or see anything to call me, and I'll forward the information out to you."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, that could work." He moved over to the computer and booted it up. He immediately started searching for anything he could find on strange things going on.

Scrolling through search engines was a mindless activity that Sam was able to do while thinking back on what he just experienced. He had watched a woman disappear right before his eyes. He'd seen a lot of strange things, hell, he'd _done_ a lot of strange things, but he had never seen anyone just poof away like that who wasn't a demon or a spirit.

He scratched his beard, and could feel his cheeks turning red again. He glanced up to make sure Bobby wasn't around. He would never hear the end of it if Bobby saw him blushing. Yeah, he thought Hermione was good looking, but there was no way he would ever act on any attraction. They were going to be working closely together, he couldn't jeopardize what they needed to do by starting something with her. And besides that, she's from London. There's no way he would risk getting close to someone who was just going to leave.

He sighed. Was he ready to go out in the field on a hunt so soon? It has only been a few weeks since…

Dean would probably slap him upside the head right now. Thinking about giving up the chance to go on a hunt with a cute girl. Driving for miles in close proximity. Staying in cheap motels. Yeah, Dean would definitely be in favor of this life choice. He would actually probably arrange for something like this to happen. If he didn't know Dean was currently being tortured in Hell, he would think Dean was up in heaven somewhere moving chess pieces to make Sam get off of Bobby's couch and go hunting with Hermione.

He laughed to himself. Yeah, this was a total Dean thing to happen. It must be a sign, if he believed in such things. He continued to scroll through the pages. Looking at all the towns around where they were. It seemed like a good place to start. Searching the whole country would be too broad.

"So," Bobby said. "Got a couple leads. Got a hunter buddy who says he's seen a couple Brits trying to negotiate with a werewolf pack outside of Wichita. Now, he's not sure that they're the ones we're looking for, but it's a start in the right direction."

Sam sat back in his chair. "So, we head down to Wichita. Did the hunter waste the werewolves?"

"Not all of them. He didn't want to risk the lives of the Brits. He says that if he knew they were fugitives, he wouldn't have hesitated."

Sam nodded. "Okay, so prepare to find some werewolves."

"Unless those assholes convinced the wolves to go with them to wherever the hell they're holed up."

Sam ran his hands down his face. "Well, maybe we'll find at least one who can tell us something of use, and then we can head in that direction. It's a lead."

"That it is. So, you going to shave that beard of yours, or are you going to keep it because the lady likes it?" Bobby asked with a grin.

Sam shook his head, laughing. "Shut up."

Bobby laughed. "C'mon. You're too easy. Besides, it's nice to see you happy for a change. It's been too long."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, it's nice to be happy but…"

"You're not betraying his memory, Sam," Bobby said, knowing where he was going.

"Are you sure? Because going out on a job? With someone else? It sure as hell feels like it."

Bobby walked over to where he is sitting, putting his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Look, Sam. It's hard. You and your brother, you were close. But he's gone. He would want you to move on, to try and figure out a way to keep living."

"Yeah, you're right," Sam said, nodding. "You're absolutely right. And this is a good first step into moving on. Getting back in the swing of things. Getting back to business as normal. Whatever normal means."

"And it will be good for you to be out with someone else. Not alone with your thoughts. Because being out on the road alone could do some real work on your head."

"Yeah. Gives me less time to plot revenge against Lilith."

"Sammy, don't be an idjit, don't you be going after Lilith on your own."

"I won't be on my own. I'll have Hermione."

"Don't you be dragging that girl into this mess with you. You two focus on getting those dirty wizards and that is it. Let her move on. And by then hopefully you'll have dropped this revenge nonsense as well," Bobby said.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'll try to shove it away. But it'll be hard. It's been an idea that has been brewing in my mind ever since I got here."

"Sam," Bobby started, but Sam cut him off.

"Bobby," Sam said. "I said I would drop it. Now I'm going to go upstairs, take a shower and maybe get some rest before Hermione shows back up. She's going to want to get on the road sooner rather than later. Don't want to let our only lead slip away from us."

Sam didn't wait for Bobby to answer before heading up the stairs. He ran his hands down his face, scratching at his beard. He would give up thoughts of revenge, for now. He would help Hermione and then once they caught those wizards, she would go on her way, and he would pick up revenge on Lilith.

He moved into the bathroom to take a shower and freshen up a bit. It probably wasn't fair to Hermione to trap her in a car with him if he hasn't showered in at least a week. Locking the bathroom door, he turned and looked at himself in the mirror for the first time since coming here. He had deep bags under his bloodshot eyes. He was also rocking a pretty gnarly beard. He sighed. No wonder Bobby and Hermione kept looking at him the way they were. They had a right to be worried. He looked like shit. He took his shirt off and smirked at himself in the mirror. Maybe he would just _trim_ the beard and not completely shave it off.

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione popped back onto Bobby's property. It was easier to apparate outside the house than in. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulder and tugged at the sleeves of her light long sleeved shirt to make sure they covered down to her wrist. She had ditched her robes back in New York and opted for the dark long sleeve shirt and denims so she could fit in a little more. She actually preferred muggle clothing to robes, so it wasn't hard for her to sort out enough muggle clothing so she wouldn't have to launder too often.

The backpack was new. She almost pulled out her trusty beaded bag from that year on the run. But she felt that would bring too many questions she just didn't want to answer. So she picked out this backpack, and then put the undetectable extension charm on it. And a featherlight charm. She wasn't stupid. She was still a witch, even though she was going to be living like a muggle for the foreseeable future.

Harry had reluctantly agreed to watch Crookshanks, but couldn't promise the cat would come out of it unscathed. His kids were way too enthusiastic to have the cat come to stay. She was going to have to make this all up to Crooks later. He was old and stodgy and set in his ways.

She walked up the drive to the door of the run down house. She lifted her hand and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened revealing Bobby. He smiled at her.

"Welcome back! That was pretty quick for having to travel clear across the country."

Hermione returned the smile. "Isn't magical travel amazing?"

Bobby took a step back and let her into the house. She moved in as he shut the door behind them. She sat her bag down on the couch, and turned to face Bobby.

"Did you guys find anything?" she asked.

"We did, actually," Bobby answered. "We found a very promising lead, that will hopefully pan out for y'all."

Hermione's eyebrows quirked up. "Really? That's brilliant!"

Bobby chuckled. "Your enthusiasm is refreshing."

"After years of dead ends and false leads, anything new excites me. When do we leave?"

"Whoa, slow down there, Freckles. We'll have plenty of time. Sam is upstairs laying down in an actual bed for the first time since he got here a couple weeks ago. We're going to let him just lay there and relax for as long as possible. He needs it. Especially if he's going to get behind the wheel of a car," Bobby said, gesturing to the couch.

Hermione moved and settled herself down on the couch, facing Bobby as he settled down in the chair. "What happened, Bobby? I heard his brother died, but I don't know more than that."

Bobby sighed, running his hand along the bill of his worn down hat. "It's a long story."

"Well, give me the short version. I need to know what I'm walking into. He's going to be my partner, I need to know what I'm hitching myself to. Because I have a feeling it will be a while before he opens up to me," she explained.

Bobby closed his eyes, and Hermione was sure that he wasn't going to tell her anything. After several moments of silence, he finally spoke up. 

"Last year, Sam died. Like, actually died. Dean, he, uh, wouldn't accept that that happened. So he went down to a crossroads and made a deal. His soul for Sam's life. Typically when you make a deal with a demon, you get ten years. But this time he was given ten months. We tried everything to get him out of the deal, but it was a no go. A couple weeks ago Sammy watched his brother get dragged to hell by Hellhounds."

Hermione was speechless. "Sam…died?"

Bobby nodded.

"And then he came back to life? I just…I don't understand. How is that possible?"

"Like I said. Dean made a deal with a demon, and the demon brought him back. For the price of his own soul," Bobby explained again.

Hermione ran her hands through her hair, which she has let down from the tight bun she had it in earlier. "There is so much about this world that I don't understand. That I'm going to need to learn."

Bobby chuckled. "I'm sure Sam is going to feel the same about your world."

Hermione smiled. "I'm sure you're right." She sighed. "Poor Sam. Watching your brother die before your eyes, no body to bury…"

"Oh there was a body, he's buried out in Missouri," Bobby corrected her.

"But I thought you said Hellhounds dragged him to Hell?" she asked, confused.

"I should have been more clear. His _soul_ was dragged to hell. His body was left behind. Usually we burn hunters bodies so they can't come back as spirits, or their bodies can't be used by anything for evil. But, Sam, he's convinced he'll still be able to rescue his brother, so he's been planted in the ground."

"Is there anything that _can_ be done?" she asked.

Bobby shrugged, and gestured to a pile of books and papers in the corner by a desk. "Those are all the texts I've been through and so far I've seen nothing. But I'm not one to completely throw in the towel, but I'm also one to not give false hope. I don't want Sam to just sit around and wait for something to happen if it's not going to happen. He needs to move on, because the odds are Dean's not coming back."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, yeah, false hope is not a good thing." She was quiet for a minute. "Will you teach me to drive?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Bobby's head snapped up to look at her. "What?"

"Teach me to drive. Crash course. Right now, while Sam is sleeping. If he's as bad off as you say, I don't want to put too much pressure on him with doing all of the driving. Teach me some basics, so if he looks like he's going to pass out behind the wheel, I can at least get us off the road somewhere."

Bobby cocked his head at her, looking at her scrutinizingly. "You want me to give you a crash course in driving right now? What makes you think we even have enough time to get you good enough to drive out on the road with Sam?"

"I'm a fast learner," Hermione countered.

Bobby stared at her for about a minute more, before breaking out into a loud chuckle. "C'mon, Freckles. Let's go teach you how to drive."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Sam was startled awake by the sound of a car door slamming outside his window. He sat up in bed, looking around in a panic before remembering where he was. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept that soundly. It was definitely before Dean sold his soul that was for sure. As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he heard voices down in the yard below. He pushed himself from the bed, and walked over to the window.

Looking outside he saw Bobby and Hermione standing next to one of Bobby's barely running cars. She was leaning against the driver's side of the truck, running her hands through her long curly hair, which she had trapped in that tight bun earlier. She had also traded those robes for jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, and he couldn't help but admire her body. Wizarding fashion did nothing for her shape. He had to force himself to stop staring at her body. He looked over at Bobby, who had moved around the car to stand right in front of her.

Bobby kept gesturing at the car, and it looked like he was trying to explain something to her, and she kept answering back, also gesturing at the car. Sam couldn't make out what they were saying, but it didn't look happy. He decided to go down and get between them before it turned bad. He couldn't afford to have the two people he would be working with to be at odds with each other. He grabbed his shirt from the floor, throwing it on before opening the door to his room and making his way down to the yard.

As he opened the door he could hear Hermione trying her hardest to not yell at Bobby.

"But I don't understand why you're teaching me this? This seems useless!"

"Because what if you find yourself in a situation you need to know how to drive one? Then you'll know!" Bobby responded, using a tone Sam knew he only saved when he was frustrated.

"I asked you to give me a quick driving lesson, so I can help Sam drive. A crash course. This is _not_ a crash course."

"What's going on?" Sam asked, making his way into the conversation.

Both Bobby and Hermione stopped what they were doing and turned to greet Sam. Sam felt his heart flutter when Hermione's face lit up with a magnificent smile when she saw him. This was not good.

"Sam!" she greeted. "It's so good to see you looking so rested! And you trimmed your beard."

Sam brought his hand up to his chin, rubbing the coarse hair there. "Yeah, I, um, decided to keep it for now, but it needed to look less like a homeless man."

Hermione laughed, and Sam decided he needed to make sure he made that happen more often. "Fair enough."

"So, what are you two arguing about out here?" he asked.

Hermione sighed, and Bobby threw his head back.

"Freckles here asked me to teach her how to drive before the two of you headed out on the road. However, she's taking offense at the method with which I'm teaching her. Making it damn near impossible to give her any lessons."

Hermione turned and focused a glare on Bobby. "Well, when I can't get the bloody car to even fucking start, then it makes it damn near impossible for me to learn, doesn't it?" she shouted at him.

Bobby opened his mouth to respond, but Sam cut him off.

"What do you mean you can't even start the car?"

Hermione turned back toward Sam. "I'm having a hard time pressing the clutch and shifting, and making sure my foot is also on the brake, and then the bloody thing just shuts off."

Sam turned to Bobby. "Why are you teaching her to drive stick? The Impala is automatic."

Bobby sighed. "Like I was telling her, just in case."

Sam shook his head. "Bobby, she can teleport. If we are in a situation where we don't have the Impala, she can just leave." He turned toward Hermione. "Look, if you want to learn how to drive, I'll teach you. We'll have plenty of opportunities on deserted roads for you to get some practice in."

Hermione directed her amazing smile at him again. "Really? Thank you so much, Sam. I just feel a little bad. I was hoping to surprise you with my newfound driving skills when we were on the road."

Sam returned her smile. "It's okay. It'll help us pass the time. We'll be spending a lot of time in the car. Might as well make that time interesting."

"Fair enough," she responded. "So, Bobby told me that you guys have a lead on Malfoy and Dolohov?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, um, a couple hunters who were clearing a werewolf den down in Kansas spotted them trying to negotiate with the pack. The hunters killed several of the werewolves, but not all. So we're going to head down and try and see what we can find. If we're lucky there will be one or two left that we can question."

Hermione's face paled. "Werewolves?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'll be there, and we shouldn't be in too much danger. When it's not the full moon they're typically harmless," Sam explained.

Hermione nodded, but she didn't look completely convinced. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. It'll be fine."

Sam looked at her, drawing his eyebrows together. "Are you okay?"

Hermione looked back up at him. "Yeah, yeah, no I'm fine. When do we leave?"

Sam looked over at Bobby. "What do you think? Should we try and get there as soon as possible, or wait until the morning?"

Bobby shrugged. "I mean, you've waited this long, it would probably be best to just get an early start in the morning. Take tonight to get a little more rest before heading out."

Sam nodded. "I agree. What do you think, Hermione?"

"Yeah, that is probably the best. Give me a little more time to research about the werewolves you have here. See if they're different than the werewolves I'm familiar with."

"I have plenty of books on lore for you to peruse," Bobby said.

"Do you mind?"

"Of course not, come on. I'll get you some of the best texts on werewolves, and while you read, I'll get something on for dinner."

Without waiting for an answer, Bobby headed into the house, leaving Hermione and Sam alone together in the yard. As they stood together, silence stretching between them, Sam began to worry about what it would be like to be alone with her out on the road. If they couldn't be alone in the yard together for two minutes without it getting awkward, what were they going to do for days on end?

"So, I never asked, but what do you do for money? You aren't paid to hunt are you?" Hermione asked.

Sam shook his head. "No, no we're not. We, uh, hustle pool and commit credit card fraud."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You what?"

"Yeah, I know it's illegal, but you know, it works. And it allows us to put gas in the car and food in our bellies. And gets us a roof to sleep under while we're working jobs. It's all I've really known, actually. My dad took us on the road when we were young, and Dean and I spent our childhood living a nomadic life while he hunted."

Hermione frowned. "Well, I get paid for my work at the ministry, even while I'm here, since I'm technically on the job. So rather than hustling pool to keep a motel roof over our head, why don't I just take care of that?"

Sam laughed. "Fine, but I'm going to have to hustle a couple games to make sure I have enough cash on hand when this job is done. Is that okay?"

Hermione sighed. "If you must," she said, humor finding its way into her voice.

Sam smiled, chuckling. "So, werewolves? You have those, too?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and most of the time they're perfectly fine. Only transforming at the full moon. The rest of the time they're just like you or I. And we even have a potion for them to take during the full moon so when they're transformed they can keep their minds, making them completely harmless, almost like large dogs."

"Dogs? So when you say 'transform' you really mean, ' _transform.'"_

Hermione nodded. "Yes, they transform into a wolf at the moon. A literal wolf. What do your werewolves do?"

"They grow fangs, but they keep their human forms intact."

"Interesting. And you kill them?"

"Silver bullet to the heart."

Hermione let out a breath. "Wow. Just like in the legends."

Sam nodded. "Just like in the legends."

"I have so much to learn," Hermione said.

"I'm looking forward to teaching you."

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione and Sam were sitting side by side on the couch pouring over some of the texts Bobby had pulled for Hermione on werewolves. The differences between the werewolves she was familiar with over in the magical world versus the werewolves over here that they were going to encounter were astonishing. She really couldn't believe the differences. If she were still working for the Department of Magical Creatures, she would probably spend a lot of time researching these differences and seeing if these were the only two variances in the species, or if there were variances around the world in other countries.

She shook her head. She was not here to do research. Well, technically she was doing research, but not the kind she was thinking about. Maybe there would be time to expand on this idea. She turned her attention back to where it needed to be. She looked back at the text. She had a lot of experiences with old and rare texts in the wizarding world, but these put them to shame. With a lot of the books they were looking at being handwritten, it was the definition of rare.

Sam leaned in closer to point something out to her, and she barely heard what he was saying. His proximity was making her stomach do somersaults. After having showered and shaved, he smelled good. And he wasn't an unattractive man. Just the opposite actually. Even though he had layered a t-shirt under and open button down, she could tell that he was in shape. Which of course he would have to be with the physical demands of the job.

She absently ran her fingers along her ring finger again. It still felt weird being bare. Was she even ready to start something new? Would she ever be?

"Supper's ready, kids," Bobby called from the kitchen.

Sam gathered the papers they were reading and set them aside before standing up, offering his hand. She took it without hesitation, and blushed as she felt a current go through her.

 _Stop it, Hermione_ ," she chastised herself. _Now is not the time._

Dinner was an uneventful affair. She enjoyed the company of both men. They were telling stories about hunts in the past. She listened and laughed when appropriate. But she couldn't help but spend her time just observing the two men. Bobby was kind, but would probably deny it if confronted. He gave off a very "dad" like vibe. She could really tell that he cared about Sam.

Sam was much more relaxed and vibrant than he had been earlier in the day. He was enthusiastically relating a story about how he and his brother had once fought with the spirit of H.H. Holmes. She loved that he was able to talk about his brother without any hurt in his eyes right now. His brother sounded like a pretty cool guy, it was unfortunate that she would not be able to meet him.

Before long she was being ushered into a guest room, and they were making plans to leave as early as possible. It was a long drive to where they were going. She shut herself in the room, closing her eyes, and leaned against the closed door. She pulled her wand out of her sleeve and began casting silencing charms on the room. Wouldn't do to wake everyone up if she didn't sleep well tonight.

SUPERPOTTER

The sun came into the window of the room Sam was staying in much earlier than he anticipated. He didn't get very much sleep the night before. It was a good thing he had that nap earlier in the day yesterday, or else he was screwed. Hopefully the drive was uneventful and they could get to the town early enough to catch a few Z's before they went to talk to the werewolves.

He grabbed his rucksack and threw the few clothes he had unpacked into it, throwing the door to his room open and heading downstairs. He heard movement in the lower level, so he was guessing someone was up. He moved to the front door, throwing it open to look at the Impala. As much as he hated going out on his own, he was actually looking forward to climbing in that car with Hermione. Sitting next to her, teaching her about their werewolves, and hearing her compare the similarities and differences to hers was actually pretty fun.

Dean was never one for research. He preferred to gank the sons of bitches and move on. It would be a nice change of pace for once to have someone else who enjoyed the research. Someone who would be enthusiastic about researching and not call him a nerd. He smiled to himself. Yeah, he was looking forward to this hunt, just a little bit more than he was before.

He threw his rucksack in the back seat of the car and turned around as he heard the gravel crunch behind him. He turned around and saw Hermione and Bobby walking toward him. Hermione, for her part, didn't look like she slept much the night before either. Her hair was thrown up in a haphazard ponytail, and she had dark circles under her eyes.

"Is that all you brought?" he asked, gesturing toward her small backpack.

She nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to travel light."

Sam shrugged. "Here, let me put it back here."

She handed him the bag, and he threw it in with his rucksack before closing the door. He turned back and faced the other two. "Are we ready?"

"Just about," Bobby answered, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a cell phone and handed it over to Hermione, who took it from him. "This is one of our burners. Sam's number and mine are programed into it. The number is programmed into Sam's phone. If you get separated, this way you'll be able to contact each other. Now, I'll keep doing research from over here. I'll give you two a call if I find anything out. I've put an APB out on these two mother fuckers. So the second I hear something, you hear something."

"Sounds good, Bobby," Sam said.

"Yeah," Hermione echoed. "Sounds good."

The three stood in the driveway for a few awkward minutes, before Sam cleared his throat. "So, shall we?" he gestured toward the car.

"Yes, let's," Hermione answered, walking to the passenger side of the car. "Thank you, Bobby."

"You're welcome, Freckles," Bobby answered.

Hermione opened the car door, climbed in, and shut the door behind her. Leaving Sam and Bobby alone for a few minutes.

"So, you be careful out there, Sammy," Bobby said.

"Yeah, yeah I will."

Bobby extended his hand and Sam grabbed it, gripping it tight, before pulling Bobby into a hug. The two separated and Sam moved to get into the car. Sitting behind the wheel, he took a deep breath, before turning the key in the ignition, and with the roar of the Impala's engine, he pulled out of Bobby's driveway onto the road of his next chapter, with a new sidekick.


	6. Chapter 6

The drive to Kansas was very uneventful. In fact, Hermione was pretty sure she was going to go crazy from boredom if this was what every drive was going to be like. The scenery was bland. Nothing but flat prairies or corn fields between Bobby's house and the town they were traveling to in Kansas. And on top of that, Sam drove in complete silence for the seven hours they were in the car together. Complete. Silence. He didn't even turn the radio on. She didn't dare ask. She knew it probably had to do with his brother, but she really hoped by the time they had to drive somewhere else he would at least talk to her.

They pulled into the first motel they came across as they pulled into a small town just on the outskirts of Wichita. Sam cut the engine and then just sat there. Staring.

"Is this where we're staying?" Hermione asked, trying to break the silence.

"Hm?" Sam asked, turning his head.

"Is this where we're staying?" Hermione repeated.

"Oh, yeah," Sam said. "We can, um, get two rooms if that would make you more comfortable, otherwise Dean and I usually just get one room, two beds."

"One room, two beds works for me," she said. "The last year of the war I spent several months on the run with two teenage boys in a tent in the middle of the woods. Sharing a motel room with one man will be fine."

Sam made a face. "You had to share a tent with two teenage boys? I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am. I saw way more than I ever wanted to during that experience. Likewise for Harry, since he's like my brother. He told me later that he accidentally walked in on me changing once and it basically scarred him for life. I told him that I walked in on him doing much worse, and we had a good laugh about it."

Sam laughed. "What about the other one? Did you scar him as well?"

She felt the smile slip from her face at the mention of Ron. She brought her right hand up to her left ring finger and rubbed it. "Um, no. He was definitely not scarred."

Sam looked away, and then down at his own hands. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring something up that would make you uncomfortable. Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. Don't worry about it, you didn't know. And I'd rather not talk about it right now, if that's okay."

"Yeah, no, it's fine," Sam said. "Just know if you want to talk about it, or anything, that I'm here."

She looked over at him and gave him a small smile. "Likewise."

Sam's head snapped up and he met her eyes. "I'm sorry for the drive here. I promise I'll try to be better, especially on any longer drives."

"Sam, don't worry about it. I understand. This is the first time you've been on the road without your brother. I know it will take some time for this to click. Just if I pull a book out next time, don't think I'm being rude. No offense, but the scenery around here is rather dull."

Sam laughed at that. "Yeah, sorry about that. The midwest definitely leaves something to be desired. Hopefully we will be able to travel to other parts of the country. Because the mountains and parts of the desert are just amazing."

She smiled. "Well, I look forward to it."

The two sat in the car, an awkward silence surrounding them. Hermione had to wonder if they would ever be one hundred percent comfortable around each other.

"So…" Sam started.

"Yeah, one of us should go get the room," Hermione said.

"I'll take care of it. You can get the next one?" Sam said.

She nodded. "Sure."

"Great. I'll let you know what name I made the reservation under when I get back."

"You can't just make it under your own?"

Sam shook his head. "Technically, I'm dead, so I have to use an alias whenever I stay anywhere."

Hermione's eyes widened. "You're dead?!"

Sam shrugged. "We needed to get into a prison to gank a spirit, and then we had to escape said prison, so we had the FBI on our trail for a while. Then we were fighting this demon, and she ended up blowing a building we were technically supposed to be inside, so we're legally dead."

Hermione shook her head. "There's so much I'm going to need to learn about you. Looking at you, I would have never guessed legally dead."

Sam smiled and shrugged again. "Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do when you're on a job."

"I guess so," she replied. "I may not be able to be that committed to the job. I am technically a law enforcement officer. And I don't think I can handle being declared legally dead."

"Fair enough," Sam said. "I'm sure it won't come down to that."

"Well, Mr. Legally Dead. Why don't I take care of the motels? I can use my real name, and my real credit card."

"Do we really want to leave a paper trail?"

Hermione sighed. "I know this isn't the way you usually do things, but MACUSA has sanctioned our movements. I don't need to fly under the radar. Let me do this."

Sam sighed. "Fine, you can do this one. But let me get the next one. I don't want you to have to pick up the bills for the whole time we're on this quest."

"Fine, but if things start getting weird, I will take over everything. MACUSA is already really weird about Muggles knowing about wizards and witches, so having the FBI after us would definitely be something they would take notice with."

"Noted. If things start getting touchy, we will stop using my information, and we'll strictly use yours. I don't want you to get in trouble."

Hermione smiled. "Great, now that that is sorted, I'll go in and get us a room and then we can figure out our next move."

Hermione didn't wait for a response before getting out of the car and walking up to the door of the motel's office. She threw it open and wrinkled her nose at the smell. It smelled of stale beer, body odor and cigarette smoke. The man behind the counter was reclining in a chair, with his feet propped up on the desk. His hair was unkempt and greasy and he was sporting a beard that rivaled Sam's pre-trim.

Holding her breath, so she didn't have to inhale his scent, she approached the counter.

The man leered as she approached, bringing his feet off of the table and sitting up straight. "Well, hello, missy. What I can I do you for?"

Hermione tried to not cringe at his yellowed teeth, stained from years of tobacco use. "Um, I'm here to let a room."

"All by your lonesome?" the man said, the corner of his mouth quirking up a bit as his eyes roamed her body. "Lady, you don't need to let a room, I have plenty of space in mine. And you don't even need to pay me. Unless you're feeling," he paused, focusing his gaze on her breasts. "Generous."

Hermione grimaced. "That's okay. I'm not here by myself. My friend is waiting in the car. We'll need a room with two beds please."

The man raised his eyebrow, "You could bring your friend. It could be a party. I can give you a proper American welcome."

"Again, we'll just take the room. We don't know how long we'll be in town, so if it's okay, we would like to just have the room on a day to day basis."

"Oh," he said, typing something into the computer. "What business does someone as pretty as you have in our small town? I'm willing to show you the highlights," he said, dragging his tongue across those yellowed teeth and placing his hand in the general area of his crotch.

Hermione took a breath, determined to just be pleasant, and get the damn key to their room. "If by sites, you mean your cock, no thank you. May I have the key to my room please, and I'll just be on my way."

The man barked a laugh. "You have spunk. I like that," he reached behind him on the peg board and grabbed a key before walking around the counter. "Here's your key," he said reaching the hand with the key out to her.

She reached for the key, but he brought the hand back from her.

"Ah ah ah, not so fast," he said, maneuvering his body so that she was trapped between it and the desk. "How's about a little kiss to earn the key?"

"No thank you. I'll just have the key please."

"Oh come on, it's just a little kiss."

"I think she said no thank you," a voice came from the area the door was in.

The motel clerk turned around and it allowed Hermione to turn and see that Sam had come in. She breathed a sigh of relief, and then moved herself so that she no longer had her back against the counter. She turned to Sam. "I thought you were going to wait in the car?"

"I was. It got hot, and I was worried there was something wrong with your card. It was taking a long time," Sam replied. "So I came in here to bring you mine, just in case, but I see that it wasn't your card at all."

"Yeah, I've been trying to tell this gentleman that we just need the room, and he has offered me his cock," Hermione said, being crude on purpose. She shifted her gaze from Sam to the man, landing it on his crotch, lifting her lip in disgust.

"Really," Sam said, turning his attention to the man. "Is this how you treat all your customers?"

"Only the hot ones," the man admitted. "If you don't want anyone hitting on your girlfriend, you really shouldn't let her off on her own."

Sam let off a soft chuckle. "Well, she's not my girlfriend," he said, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small leather square. He expertly flipped it open to reveal an FBI badge. "She's my partner. And you should be reassured that we will be reporting this incident to our superiors."

The man turned white as a sheet, and began sputtering. Hermione simply held out her hand and the man handed her the key. "If you try anything else fresh with me during the duration of our stay, I'll make sure we call the county inspector down here. I'm sure he'll be able to find several violations that will shut you down. Is that clear?"

The man nodded, and moved out of the way so that she could move all the way past, and she joined Sam at the door. Without sparing a glance back at the man at the counter, Sam held the door open for her, and they both exited the office. She glanced down at the key noting the room number before moving to the car. She reached into the back and grabbed her bag, waiting for Sam to do the same. She then led him to their room and opened the door. As she closed it behind them, she turned to him and grinned.

"You have a bloody FBI badge?" she asked, excitement oozing from her voice.

"Of course, how do you think we can gain access to classified information? Oh, by the way," he reached into his bag and tossed something to her. She caught it mid-air. "This one is yours."

Hermione smiled, opening the small leather wallet and looking at the badge. "Do I have an alias?"

"Agent Buckingham," Sam said, with a grin.

Hermione laughed. "Buckingham?"

"Yeah, like Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac."

"And what is your alias?"

"Obviously, it's Agent Fleetwood."

Hermione laughed shaking her head. "Okay, I'm sure I can remember that."

Sam smiled. "Hey, I don't want you to think I don't think you can handle yourself against some sleazy motel owner. I really was wondering what was taking so long."

"Yeah, no, I didn't think that's what you thought. I was actually glad you showed up. That man was relentless, I was worried I was going to have to knee him where it counts."

"Do you get that a lot in the Wizarding World as a woman in law enforcement?" Sam asked as he moved to sit on one of the beds.

"Not so much. I'm very well known, and my reputation proceeds me. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't know who I am, since I've been in the paper a lot for the last ten years. So I don't get harassed like that. Hit on? Often, since I'm a woman and one of the Golden Trio. Relentlessly hit on like that? Not so much."

Sam shook his head. "Famous. I'm with a famous person."

Hermione laughed. "Now don't you start. I'm just like any other person. So please don't treat me differently."

"Oh I won't," Sam said. "I'll just treat you like I would normally treat an attractive woman who is hunting with me."

Hermione blushed and looked down at her feet. She didn't respond to Sam's comment, she just moved to the other bed with her bag, opening it. She pulled out a couple books. She picked up the biggest one and moved over to sit next to Sam on his bed.

She opened it to a page she had marked before she left London. "This is Lucius Malfoy."

Sam leaned in so he could look in the book. Staring out from the page was Lucius Malfoy before the war took its toll on him. The only difference is in the last ten years he had become more gaunt in his obsession to create a pureblood world and finish what Voldemort had started.

"He looks like an ass," Sam said.

Hermione smiled, "Yes, that is an adequate way to describe him."

"Is the other guy in this book?" Sam asked, scooching even closer to her so he could get a better look.

Hermione held her breath as he moved closer. She could feel his body heat radiating off of him. She didn't know why all of a sudden he was making her nervous. Last night she had no problem with him sitting so close as they read through the research. But now, after he casually mentions that he finds her attractive? Now she gets nervous when he's so close? Her fingers find her naked left ring finger again, and she rubs in nervously. Would she ever get used to this?

"Um, yeah," she said, flipping through the book until she finds the picture of Dolohov.

"He looks fucking insane."

"Spending years in Azkaban does that to a person."

"Azkaban?"

"The Wizarding Prison."

"Ah," Sam said, looking back at the book. "What book is this?"

"It's a general history book on the two Wizarding Wars that my friends and I helped compile. We felt it was important that everyone knew the stories of what happened. It's now a required History of Magic text book to all first years."

"Do you mind if I read it?"

"Not at all."

"Great!" Sam said taking the book from her hands and setting it off to the side. "Okay, so now that I know what the guys look like, I'll be able to help you spot them if they're still here. I think we should go out and track down the werewolf pack's location, and see if we can get any information out of them."

"Sounds like a logical first step."

"Hopefully we'll be able to find them, and your wizards didn't up and recruit all of them."

"Merlin, I hope they didn't recruit any of them. My sincere hope is that none of these creatures are taking Malfoy and Dolohov up on their offer."

"Well, I hope your luck is better than mine, because if we were banking on mine, every nasty creature is signing up with them."

"Well, then we better hope fate is on my side."

"Yes, we should."


	7. Chapter 7

Sam looked over at Hermione as they made their way through what the locals called the forest, which was really just a clutch of trees outside of town. They had learned through asking the right questions that there were some strange people out in a dilapidated house in the forest. The sun was just now going down, but Sam wasn't too worried. They weren't near the full moon, so the werewolves shouldn't transform, but he had a gun loaded with silver bullets just to be safe. Hermione assured him that she had her wand, it just wasn't visible.

He could feel sweat forming on his body. It was early June in Kansas, and the heat and humidity had already begun to ramp up. He really should have left one of his layers at the motel. He looked over at Hermione and noticed her long sleeves and had to wonder if she was just as uncomfortable as he was.

As they approached the house, he went over the plan in his head again. They had agreed he would let her move in first and do the talking, and he would hang back, with the gun, as backup of sorts.

They reached the door, and Hermione reached out and rapped on it. She took a step back and they waited. And waited.

"Shit," Hermione muttered under her breath.

Sam felt the same. If no one answered, that would mean the wizards were successful in recruiting the pack. And that would change everything.

Hermione looked over her shoulder and gave him a look of panic before turning back to the door and knocking on it again, louder this time. She stepped back even with him.

"How long do we wait for them to answer?" she whispered to him.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe a few more minutes?"

"Do you think I'm knocking loud enough?"

Sam took a step forward and lifted his hand and pounded on the door with the butt of his gun. He stepped back, and gave Hermione a smile. "There. Now we don't have to question if they heard it or not."

"Thank you," she said.

He was going to answer but the door of the shack swung open, revealing a middle aged man. He was well kempt for living out in the middle of the "forest." He looked like they had woken him. And he looked leery of their presence.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes sir, I'm Agent Buckingham and this is Agent Fleetwood, and we're in town looking for a couple fugitives, and we're wondering if we could show you a few pictures to see if you've noticed them around?"

"Um, yeah, sure."

Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out the pictures of the wizards, holding them up for the werewolf to see.

"Yeah, yeah, they were just here," the werewolf said after he saw the pictures.

"Really?" Hermione said, surprise evident in her voice. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. They came here and tried to convince my friends and I to go on the road with them. To work for them. But we didn't want to buy what they were selling, if you know what I mean? So we sent them away."

"What were they trying to sell you, if I may ask?"

The man looked nervous, his eyes shifting between looking at them and looking at the ground. He was trying to figure out what he could tell them.

Hermione moved in closer and Sam changed his grip on his gun, just in case the werewolf made any moves that he wasn't comfortable with. Hermione bowed her head toward the werewolf, lowering her voice. "What's your name?"

"Cade," he said, in an equally quiet voice.

"Cade, you're not in trouble. We're not here for you. We are looking for these men. So don't think you're going to get into any trouble here tonight."

"Yes, ma'am," Cade said.

"And don't worry about your secret," she said.

Cade looked up, meeting her eyes. "My secret, ma'am?"

Hermione leaned even closer to him. "That you and your friends are werewolves. We know your pack has been hunting exclusively in the forest and being almost 'vegetarian' as it will. Since you're not killing humans, we're going to let you stay put. But we need your help. You're the only ones who can help us find these men, who are trying to prevent people like you from living peacefully in your cabins in the woods."

Sam had to smile. She was good. He could see how she made her way to the position she was in. She excelled at talking to people.

Cade looked down at the ground for a long time. He seemed to be contemplating his options. And for her credit, Hermione stayed right there by his side. She was didn't look frightened, and she looked like she was ready to help him make any decisions he needed to make.

Finally after what seemed like forever he spoke up. "How does the FBI know what we are?"

Hermione gave him a sweet smile. "We're a special division of the FBI. We deal specifically with supernatural beings. Eradicating those who are doing harm to the average citizen, protecting the ones who just want to live an ordinary life."

"Hunters," Cade said. "You're hunters."

Hermione shrugged. "Call us what you would like, but that doesn't change what we are doing here. We want to keep you, your friends, and everyone else like you, safe. In order to do that, we need you to tell us what we need to know."

"They were here two, three days ago," Cade said quietly. "They knew we were werewolves and they said that's the reason they were looking for us. They pulled out these, um, these sticks, and they, uh, made a few things float. They said that they were recruiting for a revolution. Over in England. They weren't very specific about what the revolution was exactly, but they were trying to get us to fly out by the week's end. We refused. They told us to think about it and they would come back and get our answer."

"When did they say they would be coming back?" Hermione asked.

"The end of the week."

She turned back and looked at Sam. "That's tomorrow." She turned back to Cade and pulled out a card from her pocket, handing it to him. "This is my number. The second they show up here, call me. Stall them until we get here. We're staying just inside town at the motel, it shouldn't take us long to get here. Can you do that for us?"

Cade took the proffered card and slipped it in his pocket, giving Hermione a smile. "Yeah, yeah of course."

"Thank you so much for your cooperation, Cade."

"You're welcome, ma'am."

Hermione stepped back from him and he gave her a smile, and then looked up at Sam, giving him a little nod, before closing the door. Hermione motioned for him to follow her, so he put his gun away and followed her as they walked down the path away from the house. Once they had made a good distance between them and the house, she turned to him.

"Okay, so what do you think?" she asked, moving closer to him as they walked, so she wouldn't have to talk so loud.

Sam shook his head. "It seems really damn convenient," he answered. "I mean what are the odds that we would show up literally the day before the people we're looking for are going to return?"

"Not very good," she said. "But, it could just be a coincidence. I'm just really paranoid after everything I've gone through. To me it smells like a set up."

Sam shrugged. "It could go either way, really. I mean, he really seemed sincere. At least by my standards. Usually I can tell when someone is feeding me bullshit. What about you? You do this for a living."

Hermione shrugged. "I agree with you. He doesn't seem to be lying. But I can't just let it go."

"Well," Sam said as they hit the edge of the woods, placing his hand on her elbow to help her over the fallen log in their way. "How about we treat this like a trap? We'll go in tomorrow like we told him, but we'll be prepared for every possibility."

"Yeah, that's a sound idea."

They walked the rest of the way down to the motel in companionable silence. It was the least awkward time they've ever spent together thus far. Sam took the time to admire her. When he had first seen her, he hadn't been sure if she could hold her own. She was so petite and polite. Now, he hadn't seen her in action yet, not really, but watching her talk to that werewolf, that was something else.

They got back to the motel, and Hermione opened the door for them. She shut the door and they walked over and sat opposite each other on their respective beds.

"You were really good with him back there," Sam said.

She smiled. "Thanks. Before I worked for the MLE, I worked in the Department of Magical Creatures. I worked on trying to gain equality for werewolves in our society. I spent a lot of time talking to werewolves, so I knew what to say."

"Where did you get a card with your cell phone number on it so quickly? We just gave you the phone this morning."

She gave him a wide smile. "Magic."

Sam returned her smile, shaking his head. "Magic, of course."

Hermione shrugged. "You asked. I answered."

"Can you make some up for me, too?"

Hermione nodded. "Of course. And when we change our aliases, I can re-charm them so that the name is changed."

Sam shook his head. "Less than twenty-four hours on the road with me and you're already making my life easier."

Hermione laughed. "Glad that I'm making myself useful."

Sam blushed. "I didn't mean to make it sound like that."

"I know what you meant."

Comfortable silence fell between them. He watched as Hermione reached across her bed, picking up her bag. She opened it, pulling out a box of blank business cards. She shook her right arm, and her wand fell down into it. She pointed her wand at the cards and muttered a few words before setting the wand to the side. She reached across the gap and handed him the stack. He smiled down at the cards. They had the official FBI seal on them, his current alias, and his cell phone. They looked legit.

"These are really good."

"Thank you, it took a few tries to get them right," she said.

"When did you have time to perfect it?"

"When you were sleeping," she said.

"I thought you were napping, too?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't sleep much," she said, matter-of-factly.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I can relate."

"Yeah, I know."

Sam stood up from the bed and walked over to the wall unit and began to mess with the air until the machine kicked on. As he walked back to the bed, he lost his button down shirt. The humidity was no joke. He looked over at Hermione who had moved on to reading on the bed. She was still wearing her long sleeve blouse, buttoned all the way to the neck.

"Aren't you hot?" Sam asked.

She looked up from her book, "Hmm?"

"I asked if you were hot. If you want I can step out so you can change into a t-shirt or something."

Hermione shook her head. "I'm fine, but thank you."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I've cast a cooling charm on my clothing, so I'm fine, really."

Sam looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language. "Okay, if you say so."

"So," she started, closing the book she was reading. "What is the plan for tomorrow?"

"Well, we hope your guys show back up to the werewolves at some point tomorrow, and then we go in and try to get them. And cross our fingers that everything doesn't go pear shaped."

"Sounds simple," she said.

"The best plans are."

"Well, now that we have a plan, how about we call it a night, try to get some sleep, and then we can start fresh with any preparation in the morning. I'll need to tell you some of the possibilities you might see tomorrow."

"Thought you didn't sleep much."

"Still bloody jet lagged," she said, grabbing her back pack and walking toward the bathroom. "Think I might get a few hours of sleep."

Sam smiled. He watched as she closed the door behind her, before slipping his belt out of the buckle, and stepping out of his pants. He folded them placing them on the floor by the foot of his bed before pulling the covers back and sliding in, pulling the sheet up over him. He reached over onto his night table, clicking off the light. He laid his head down on the pillow and tried to relax.

He looked over at the empty bed, and could feel the tears filling his eyes. Usually there would be a leather jacket flung haphazardly over the foot of the bed, and possibly several crumpled burger wrappers. He closed his eyes, the tears burning behind his lids. He tried to control his breathing, the pain becoming all too real. This was the new reality. Hunting without his brother. He was hunting with a very attractive woman, and his brother was being tortured in Hell for eternity. How was this fair? Dean should be here. He would get a kick out of all of this. And he could bet his last dollar he would have tried his damnedest to seduce Hermione, and he probably would have succeeded.

He heard the bathroom door open and could tell the light had been turned off. He listened as Hermione's soft footsteps fell on the carpet and made her way to the bed. He rolled over onto his side and cracked his eyes open. He was not surprised to see that she was still wearing a long sleeved sleep shirt, high neckline. He watched her climb into the bed where Dean should have been sleeping, turn out the light that Dean should have turned out, and as the room fell into darkness and her breathing evened out, he finally allowed himself to cry.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione rolled over as the light came into the motel room's window. She groaned. She was glad she had remembered to cast a last minute silencing charm around her bed. She had a very sleepless night. Spending time with werewolves always planted the seeds of memories of Malfoy Manor. The promise of an encounter with both Malfoy and Dolohov in the near future exacerbated it. You would think after ten years the nightmares would be abated. The constant aching and throbbing of the scars on her arm and her neck from Bellatrix's cursed knife were probably didn't help.

She rolled over to take a look at Sam. He was breathing deeply. He seemed to have fallen asleep at some point last night. As she settled into bed, she could hear him crying. She didn't know what to do. It broke her heart to lay there listening to him cry. But she was pretty sure he thought she was asleep, since she cast the silencing charm. Her heart just broke for him. It had to be hard being here with her and not his brother.

She grabbed her bag and padded softly to the bathroom. She shut the door quietly behind her and pulled out some clothes for the day, casting cooling charms on them. She then pulled out the potions she's gotten used to using for the last ten years. Specialized ointments for the scars left to her from Lestrange. And a nerve relaxer for the after effects of the Cruciatus. She had less than a month's worth of the potions, so hopefully today went well, or she would eventually need to pop back to London and pick up another supply from St. Mungo's.

She stripped and stepped into the shower, rinsing the grime that traveling and walking around the woods yesterday left on her body. She ran through her offensive spells in the order she would typically use them in her head. She wanted to make sure she was prepared and ready for when they confronted Malfoy and Dolohov, especially if they were walking into a trap.

The last time she had seen Dolohov had been in the bowels of the Ministry as he was awaiting his trial after the war. He had taunted her, saying something along the lines that not only would he make sure he finished the job the next time, but that he would enjoy it. She had shrugged off the threats, confident that he would be convicted and sent to Azkaban. However, she underestimated the power of Malfoy's Gringott's account. Not only was he able to get himself off, he was able to get a handful of Voldemort's most loyal followers off as well. The Wizarding World had a long way to go when it came to delivering well deserved justice. Unfortunately many in the Wizengomet still held the same beliefs they help prior to the war, and that still colored their convictions. Hopefully, after a decade post-war, once she caught Malfoy and Dolohov, she would be able to secure convictions for them, and not have to worry about it again.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, toweling off with a not-quite-white towel. She applied her ointments, swallowed her potion, and dressed. She pulled a hair tie out of her bag and took the time to wrap her hair into a tight bun at the top of her head. With the humidity that they were experiencing down here, there was no point in trying to do anything else with her hair.

She shoved everything else into her bag, and exited the bathroom. Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed now, in his t-shirt and boxer shorts, his bare legs stretching to his feet which were planted firmly on the floor. He was staring off in the general direction of her bed.

"I'm sorry," she said, coming around him, trying to divert her eyes, since he wasn't dressed. "I didn't wake you did I?"

Sam looked at her. "No, you didn't. The sun did."

"Yeah, it woke me as well."

He stood up from the bed and walked over to the window. He looked at the edges. "There are no curtains."

"Of course there aren't. That man is probably too cheap to put curtains up."

"Or too perverted to. I bet he enjoys peeping in the windows of unsuspecting guests."

Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That is disturbing." She paused. "And now I can't get the image of him having a wank in the bushes. Thanks Sam."

Sam laughed. "Sorry. Not quite awake enough to have any tact. Or to remember that I'm not here with my brother, who probably would have come to that conclusion first."

Hermione shook her head. "Tact is overrated, and don't forget that I've spent a lot of time with men. Don't treat me any differently than you would Dean. I won't be offended."

Sam turned and gave her a tight smile and a nod of his head before he moved back toward where he had set down his bag. She was pretty sure she heard him mutter something under his breath as he passed, but she couldn't be sure what it was. She watched as he retreated into the bathroom and she flopped onto the bed, closing her eyes. Some day she would get enough sleep at night and not feel completely exhausted. Today was not the day.

SUPERPOTTER

Sam shut the bathroom door behind him and leaned against it closing his eyes. He couldn't believe he just said what he said out loud. "Yeah, well, I didn't want to fuck my brother." What was that? He couldn't help but wonder what the fuck was up with him. Did Dean somehow manage to infiltrate into his mind after he was dragged to hell? Because this was definitely in his territory. Dean would easily recognize that Sam was attracted to Hermione, and then he would hound him until he acted on that attraction and slept with Hermione. He had done it several times in the past. However, this was different. Hermione wasn't just some girl on a case. She was his partner, and he couldn't sleep with his partner. That would make things weird and awkward.

He stepped away from the door, and got ready to shower. His hair was getting long, and his beard was getting itchy, but he wasn't going to do anything about it now. He showered quickly, trying to not think about the attractive woman who was just in here, and then got out, and threw on a t-shirt and his jeans, foregoing the button down this time. He stepped out of the bathroom and saw Hermione sleeping on the bed.

She was sleeping fitfully, twitching a bit, flinging her head back and forth on the pillow, muttering under her breath. Her brow was furrowed, and she was frowning. Sam dropped his bag, and moved to her side, sitting on the edge of the bed. From the little she told him about her time in the war, he could imagine that it left a few lasting effects.

He gently put his hand on her shoulder and she sprang up from the bed with a gasp. She looked around frantically, her eyes not quite focused. She was breathing hard, and she was was looking around for something on the bed, probably her wand.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he said gently. "It's okay. You're safe. It was just a dream."

She stopped moving and looked at him, her eyes finally focusing on him. He watched as her face crumbled and she started crying. Sam didn't hesitate, he moved toward her, closing the gap between them, wrapping her tightly into a hug.

"Hey, you're okay."

Hermione shook her head. "It's been ten years," she bit out, through the sobs. "Ten years. When will the nightmares stop? You weren't supposed to know about them."

Sam frowned. "Why not? Everyone gets nightmares. I get nightmares. I watched my brother get dragged to Hell. I've seen things you couldn't even imagine, and they haunt my sleep. I don't know the full extent about what you went through, but being tortured? That's no walk in the park. I'm sure being after the people who did it can't help."

Hermione pulled back and looked at him with her tear filled eyes, as if she were in awe of him.

"What?" he asked.

She just shook her head. "You've known me for less than a week and you are already more understanding than…" she drifted off.

"Than what?" Sam asked.

She shook her head. "Never mind."

Sam shook his head. "No, what were you going to say?"

He watched as she looked down at her hands and began fussing with her fingers. She looked as if she were debating with herself about whether she was going to tell him or not.

"Hey," he said. "If you don't want to tell me right now, you don't have to. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, you can just—"

"My husband. You are already more understanding than my husband," she blurted out, interrupting him.

Sam was taken aback. "Your…your husband?" he asked. He glanced down at her fingers, noting that she wasn't wearing a ring, so it wasn't something that he was completely oblivious to, so that's good. But he was still surprised. He figured if she were married that would have been brought up right away when they were discussing the fluidity of this hunt.

"Well, husband until the d-divorce is final," she said.

"Oh," Sam responded. Things were making slightly more sense. "I'm sorry."

She laughed. "Well, that's a phrase I've been hearing a lot in the last few months."

Sam smiled sympathetically. "That doesn't sound good. Can I guess that it wasn't a mutual choice?"

She shook her head. "Nope, definitely not mutual. I was pretty blindsided. I mean, I knew things weren't great, but no one's marriage is perfect. We had a few rough spots, but I thought we were working things out. And then," she paused, closing her eyes. Sam watched as tears made their way down her cheeks from under her closed lids. "And then, I came home from work early, and walked in on him fucking some random witch in our living room. Our bloody living room. Right out in the open. And after I walked out of the house that day, I learned that she wasn't the first, by a long shot. And I've never felt so inadequate in my entire life as I have in the last few months."

Sam shook his head. Cheated on by her husband. He never would have guessed she would be one to be cheated on. Yes, he's only known her for a few days, but she was beautiful. And nice. And insanely smart. Her husband was crazy.

"I know you probably have heard this a million times from just about everyone, but you shouldn't let that asshole get in your head. You are by no means inadequate in any way, that I've noticed." He pulled out his stack of business cards from his pocket. "You made us business cards! I mean, I'm impressed."

That did the job. Hermione started laughing. "Silly, Muggle. Impressed by a basic charm."

Sam smiled. "Well, silly Muggle or not, it is impressive. How long were you and asshole together?"

She took a deep breath. "Well, we had known each other since we were eleven. But we became romantically involved about ten years ago, after the war ended. We were married shortly after that."

It only took a few seconds for Sam to connect the dots in his head. "He's the other guy, the one you didn't want to talk about. The one you were on the run with."

She nodded. "Right."

"Bastard."

She shook her head. "You're being unfair to him, you don't even know him. You haven't even heard his side of the story. It's pretty compelling. You may change your opinion if you did."

Sam frowned. "Try me."

"I'm damaged. From the war. Both physically and mentally. He tried really hard after the war, to be there for me, but it just grew to be too much for him. Eventually he moved to the guest room to sleep, and asked me to put a silencing charm back up. When the worst of the nightmares were over, he moved back in. He was very supportive of my career. It allowed him to live a comfortable life. However, he wanted to start a family. Harry and his wife, who is also my sister-in-law, were starting their family. We wanted our kids to go to Hogwarts together. However, something was wrong. We couldn't get pregnant. And when we did, it wouldn't last. I finally saw a healer, and the torture I was subjected to during the war affected my reproductive organs. I would be able to get pregnant, but the chances of carrying to term were slim. That just made things worse. He became resentful. I think that was one of our biggest fights. So many things were shouted. Pretty sure he called me deformed at some point. And then things got better. We got into a routine. And I was lulled into a sense of security. But apparently that's when he ramped up his cheating. As he tells it, he wanted to 'fuck women who didn't disgust him.'" She stopped here, as the words got stuck in her throat. "I'm sorry."

Sam shook his head. "Don't be sorry. And for the record, I didn't change my mind. He's still an asshole. Lashing out at you for something that's beyond your control? It's not like you tortured yourself. Of course there's going to be lasting damage. Of course you're going to have nightmares. Can I tell you a little about myself? Maybe it will make you feel a bit better?"

Hermione nodded. "If you would like to share, I would love to listen."

Sam took a breath. "When I was a baby, my mom was killed by a demon in my nursery. This is what spurned my dad into a life of hunting. A couple years ago, we learned that the demon who killed my mom gave me some of his blood, and made me…special. I have, or had, rather, these weird psychic powers. I could see people dying before they died. Turns out the Demon was recruiting someone to open the gates of hell and be his champion in the war of Hell on Earth. He took all of the kids he was grooming and put us in an abandoned town for a last man standing battle royale. Dean and Bobby came to rescue me, but not soon enough, I wasn't lucky. I wasn't the last man standing. That's when Dean made his deal, and I came back, and I had a rough go of it. And watching my brother get torn to shreds and dragged to hell? That shit messed me up, too. So yeah. Your husband is an asshole."

"Wow," Hermione said. "You have psychic powers?"

"Had. I haven't had a vision or anything in a long time, but on Dean's last day, Ruby, a demon who we were working with, told me that there's something she could have taught me that would have taken down Lilith, the demon who held Dean's contract, but I didn't listen to her. So yeah. I ingested demon blood as a baby, and it gave me psychic powers at twenty-two. And apparently there's something that I could do to defeat a super strong demon."

"What happened to this Lilith?"

Sam shrugged. "She tried to kill me after Dean died. But it didn't work, I was like, immune or something. And then she just peaced out. I went to Bobby's and then met you. But right before you came into my life I was plotting on how to hunt her down and get revenge. But Bobby said revenge is not a good idea, so here I am."

Hermione was quiet for a few minutes, deep in thought. "This demon, Ruby, she said that there's something that you have the ability to do that will defeat this demon? Did she say what?"

Sam shook his head. "No, she never got the chance. She said it took time, but we weren't listening. We were pretty convinced we could kill Lilith."

Hermione was quiet again. "I wonder." She muttered.

Sam perked up. "You wonder what?"

"I wonder if we can figure out what she was going to teach you, and do it ourselves."

"Could we do that?"

Hermione shrugged. "There's always a possibility. You can find almost anything in a book. And I have access to a lot of books."

"What are you saying?"

"How about we add a little side mission to our mission? Want to take out a demon?"


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Hermione watched as Sam tried to process everything she had just said. She took a moment to compose herself. In just half an hour, the two of them had unloaded a lot of baggage. She was glad she told Sam what was going on between her and Ron, since there's going to be a time when she would have to go back to London and sign divorce papers. However, it hurt to drag everything out in the open, like reopening old wounds.

She wasn't over-exaggerating when she said she never felt more inadequate ever in her life than she has over the last few months as everything about Ron started to come out. Things she had no idea about started to come to light after she walked in on Ron in the living room that day a few months ago. It was as if Ron had wanted to get caught. Like he was itching to end things, but didn't know how to begin. The fact that they had known each other most of their lives and he still couldn't talk to her about his feelings was telling.

And in the process of them splitting up, she had lost most of her family. She didn't know what he told his family, but the Weasley's had all taken his side, shunning Hermione. The only people who still talked to her was Harry and Ginny. And that was only when the others weren't around. Otherwise they had to play by Molly's rules, and not speak to Hermione.

This job, taking her across the pond and on the road, came at the perfect time for her. It allowed her to get away from the newspapers, the family, and the apparently very attached woman she had walked in on who was pretty sure she was going to be the next Mrs. Weasley. It was all just too much to stay behind. Of course in her plan to get away, she never imagined it would be with a very handsome, very intelligent man. From everything she learned about hunters she never imagined any of them to be her age and good looking. This was a development she wasn't prepared for. Being attracted to another man, so soon after the breakup of her marriage, was not something she had on the agenda.

"Do you think we can do this?" Sam asked, finally.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but we don't know until we try."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, yeah, let's do it. Let's figure this out."

"Yeah?" Hermione asked, feeling a little excited.

"Yeah. Getting revenge is something I want more than anything. Doing it logically is the best way to do this."

Hermione smiled. "Yes, preparing oneself for a mission is always better than going off half cocked."

"You're starting to sound like Bobby."

Hermione shrugged. "He's a smart man."

"Yeah, he is."

The two sat in a comfortable silence next to each other on Hermione's bed.

"I'm sorry for everything that you're dealing with in your personal life," Sam said quietly.

"I'm sorry that a demon chose the path your life was going on for you. My best friend, Harry, had that happen. He was marked as infant and that determined his whole life."

"Yeah, not exactly how I would have wanted to live my life. But, I've met a lot of good people."

"And lost a lot of good people," Hermione said quietly.

"And lost a lot of good people. Something you're probably familiar with after being in that war."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, unfortunately."

"You know, when you didn't want to talk about the second guy you were stuck in a tent with, I thought maybe he had died in your war."

"Nope, made it through the war. Became a giant arsehole after it though. Merlin, how did I not see this coming? I keep replaying the last ten years over and over and over, and I just keep wondering if I'm really that stupid to not have seen any signs that he was unhappy. Or shagging groupies."

"It's not your fault, and you shouldn't be thinking that. You were in love. You weren't looking for anything being wrong, you were just living your life. So don't live with your what ifs. You'll just drive yourself crazy."

Hermione smiled at him. "You're a smart man, Sam Winchester."

Sam blushed, shrugging. "Well, I just have some experiences with what ifs."

Hermione gave him a sad smile. "So much in common, some good, some bad."

"Yeah, crazy, right?"

"Yes, crazy."

The silence was interrupted by the shrill ringing of Hermione's phone, causing them to jump. Hermione practically leapt across the bed, ignoring the fact she had to brush past Sam, and reached the phone on the end table. She flipped it open.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Agent Buckingham?" a voice asked from the other end.

"Yes?"

"It's me. Cade. You told me to call you when those men showed back up? Well, they showed back up."

"Great, try to keep them there, we'll be there as soon as possible," she said, hanging up. She turned to Sam. "They're there."

Sam jumped up from the bed, and moved to put his shoes on. Hermione did the same. She grabbed her wand, and stuck it in the arm holster. She turned back to see Sam checking the ammo in his gun before tucking it away. He turned to look at her. She just nodded, and they both moved to the motel room door and off to the woods.

SUPERPOTTER

For a minute, Sam worried about whether or not Hermione would be able to keep up with his pace, she was so much smaller than him, but, as with everything else, she surprised him. They moved through the woods with ease. They were going to try and make it to the cabin before the wizards had a chance to leave.

He wasn't sure, exactly, what to do when they got there. He never even thought to ask Hermione what to do, but he figured, they could play it by ear. He would let her take the lead on this one. As they neared the cabin, he fell back and let Hermione get out in front. He watched her flick her wrist and her wand fell into her hand. She slowed down and stopped and paused behind a tree, he followed suit.

She turned to look at him, and she just nodded at him. She moved a few feet closer, and he did the same. The cabin looked just as abandoned as it did yesterday. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He watched as Hermione waved her wand a couple times, before moving forward. Again, he followed. She pressed herself against the wall of the house, just to the right of the door. He moved so that he was to the left. He looked at her wand in her hand, and he palmed his gun. He would be prepared for anything.

Sam watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath before turning to him. She gave a nod, and turned to throw open the door. He wasn't sure what happened, but there was a blast and the door came flying outward, taking Hermione down with it.

"Hermione!" he yelled, forgetting about stealth as he watched his new partner fall to the ground. He watched her pull herself up, and bring a hand to her head.

"I'm fine," she said, "They know we're here, we have to stop them before they leave."

Sam nodded, and rushed into the cabin, he could hear Hermione not too far behind.

The inside of the cabin looked empty, he held his gun out in front of him, and moved toward the back of the house. He kicked open a door to his left, and it was empty. He moved to the next door, and inside was a group of people, Cade being one of them.

"They went out the back!" he shouted.

Sam nodded and moved, but he wasn't fast enough, he felt Hermione push past him, and he followed. The back door was wide open. He cursed under his breath. This was not a good sign, they probably already got away. He didn't know what tipped them off, he was pretty sure they had been stealth.

They pushed through the door, and he almost ran over Hermione as she came to a dead stop in front of him. The wizards hadn't escaped. They were standing there in the lawn, their own wands raised.

"Miss Granger," the blond, Malfoy he thought, said, with a smirk. "I thought for sure it would be an American Auror who tripped the wards we set in the woods. But it's you. Traveled all the way from across the pond. And who is this with you? Already moving on from Mr. Weasley I see."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione bit out.

"Oh, _kroshka_ ," the dark, Russian said. "You don't know how happy I am that it's you who's come here. I've been dreaming about this reunion. Thinking about what it would be like to add more marks to your beautiful skin. Feel your pulse slow as your life bleeds from your body."

Sam felt his pulse quicken as he listened to the man describe how he would kill Hermione. He lifted his gun higher and took aim at the Russian. The man laughed.

"Oh, Lucius, the Muggle thinks he can kill us before we kill him."

"How quaint," Malfoy muttered with a smirk. He lifted his wand and Sam watched as a bright light came hurtling toward him.

" _Protego_!" Hermione shouted, and the light bounced off of some kind of shield.

Sam stared wide eyed at Hermione. He was way over his head here. This wasn't like anything he had dealt with before. Knowing that anything he did would probably be considered a liability at this point, he fell back into the cabin, watching from around the corner, keeping his gun trained on the wizards, hoping to get a clear shot.

What he observed, however, was Hermione holding her own against the two men. She would throw a spell, and then they would throw a spell, and she would expertly block it. Watching her fighting the men, waving their sticks, their _wands_ , at each other, shouting Latin, was awe inspiring. He couldn't believe what was going on. They were exerting just as much physical energy as they would if they were in a fist fight, but they never touched each other once. He wasn't even sure who was winning at this point.

Hermione threw another spell, and it finally made contact with Lucius, throwing him to the ground.

"Give up, and come with me. You're both under arrest for more crimes than I can list off," Hermione said, approaching the fallen wizard.

"Oh, _pchelka_ , you should know by now that we're not going to just come with you. You'll have to catch us, first."

"Running is futile. I've put anti-apparition wards up, there's nowhere to go. _Incarcerous_ ," she said, effectively binding Malfoy. Before Sam could react, Dolohov lunged forward, grabbing Hermione and pulling her toward him. Sam leapt out of the cabin and rushed toward him.

"Let her go," Sam shouted.

"Oh how cute," Dolohov muttered. "Still thinks he's a match for wizards. Muggles are so adorable."

Sam couldn't even prepare himself as he was knocked backward, falling to the ground. A sharp pain in his stomach. He watched helplessly, as Dolohov ran his hand down Hermione's back, and rest on her ass.

Hermione shoved him away and held out her wand. "You. Will. Not. Touch. Me. _Incar—"_

She didn't get the rest of it out as she got hit with a spell from behind, launching her to the ground. Malfoy had gotten out of his bindings, and hit her. The two men stood around her, staring at her on the ground.

"We could kill you, but that would ruin the fun of the chase. I'll just leave you with something to remember me by," Dolohov said, flicking his wand at her, causing her to scream out.

The two men laughed.

"Until next time, _pchelka_ ," Dolohov said, and the two men disappeared before their eyes.

Sam sat up, ignoring the pain in his stomach and crawled over to where Hermione was lying on the ground, holding her chest. Blood was seeping through her shirt at an alarming rate.

"Shit, shit, shit," Sam muttered. "Hermione, what can I do? Can a hospital fix this?"

She shook her head. "I have a bag attached at my waist pull it off and hand it to me."

Sam moved closer, and found the bag tied at her waist. He pulled it and handed it to her. She pointed her wand into hit and a bottle flew out. She handed it to Sam.

"Pull the dropper out and just run the potion along the cut."

Sam nodded, before looking back at her. With shaking hands she unbuttoned her shirt and opened it. He tried to be a gentleman and divert his eyes from her breasts, which looked exquisite in the black bra she was wearing. Instead,he focused on the deep cut that ran across her body.

He began dripping the potion across the cut and watched in awe as the cut began to close as the potion touched it. It was like…magic. When the cut was healed he inspected his work, and there wasn't even a scar where she had been injured. And he couldn't help but notice the purple scar that ran across her chest from the other direction, from her collarbone to her ribcage. Hermione noticed him noticing, and drew her shirt back together.

"Thank you," she said.

"Yeah, no problem. Are you okay?"

She nodded, but her eyes began to fill with water. She picked up her wand and aimed it at the nearest tree and blasted it, bark flying everywhere.

"FUCK!" she screamed. "We had them. We bloody had them, and they just left. We failed."

Sam shook his head. "We didn't fail. We just came close. We will find them again. And we will catch them. And I will fucking put a bullet in that Russian fucker. And I will enjoy every second of watching him squirm."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

The next few weeks were a blur of racing around the country chasing after leads that Bobby kept calling into them. So far Lucius and Antonin had been able to keep two steps ahead of them. The good news was it didn't seem like they were successful in recruiting any of the people they had been meeting with, but it was still disconcerting that they always seemed to know Sam and Hermione were on their trail.

Research into what Ruby had told him before Dean was dragged to Hell was also slow. Hermione apparently had an entire library in her backpack. Sam discovered on their drive to their next lead that she had magicked her backpack so that it would fit everything she needed. She said the spell was technically illegal, but it didn't stop him from asking her to put the same spell on his own bag. Between the extension charm and a charm to make it feel like it weighed nothing, Sam didn't hesitate to shove as many books as he could fit the other day when they stopped off at Bobby's.

Things were less tense in the car, the awkwardness between them almost all but vanished. Car rides were still done in mostly silence, since he still couldn't get himself to turn on the radio, knowing that the second Bon Jovi blasted on the radio any progress he had made emotionally would be thrown out the window.

They were currently unpacking their stuff in a motel in some small town in Ohio. They had followed a lead here, and they were pretty sure the Death Eaters were going to be meeting with another werewolf pack. So far they had been sticking to vampires and werewolves, two monsters they had in the wizarding world. Hermione was wondering if they were possibly trying to merge the different worlds. Sam tended to agree with her. It seemed like a logical choice.

He looked across the room at the woman he had been traveling the last couple weeks with. His attraction to her wasn't any less than it had been when he first met her. In fact, it had only grown. Getting to know her, he realized that she was amazing, and everything he would want in a partner, if his life were different. If anything the last three years had taught him, his life was not made for a romantic partner. Losing Jess, and then that werewolf he had slept with, had taught him that being with him only led to pain, suffering, and death. He was cursed. That yellow-eyed demon had made sure of that when he was an infant. No, nothing would ever come of his attraction to her.

"Are we staying in for the night?" Hermione asked, breaking Sam out of his thoughts.

"Yeah," he responded. "It's late. Let's just get some rest and see what we can find when we go into town tomorrow."

Hermione nodded before taking her bag with her into the bathroom. They had settled into a comfortable routine while staying in motels. Luckily, after the events in the lobby of the first motel, they hadn't had any trouble having Hermione check them in and pay for the rooms. It was nice to be able to lie less. Being the gentleman that he was, he always let Hermione get ready for sleep first. Then he would follow. He waited until she had exited the bathroom before going in and showering. When he stepped back into the room, the lights were out, and he couldn't hear any sound coming from her bed. She must have put up a silencing spell, something she did about every other night. Something to drown out any sounds in case she had another nightmare.

He padded over to his bed, and climbed in. He rolled over onto his side and stared at her through the dimness in the room. He wished she wouldn't put up the silencing spell, that she would trust him enough to comfort her in case she needed it, but he understood. She was used to taking care of herself. But he still wasn't sleeping as much as he should, so the least he could do was try and take care of her so she could have a peaceful sleep. He shook his head and rolled over and after who knew how long, drifted off into a fitful sleep.

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione was startled out of sleep from a sound in the bed across from her. She sat up and canceled the silencing spell from around her. She looked over at Sam and noticed that he was sleeping restlessly, tossing and turning, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. He was obviously suffering from a nightmare.

"Sam," she called quietly from her spot in her bed. He must not have been sleeping soundly, because that did it she watched him startle awake, but he didn't move or say anything for a long time. She could hear him breathing heavily, and watched as he brought his hands up to cover his face. "Sam? Are you okay?"

Sam's voice came quietly from the other bed. "I should be dead."

"What?" Hermione asked from the other bed.

"I'm the one who should be dead, not Dean."

"What do you mean?"

"He made a deal," Sam said, quietly. "He made a deal and bargained his life for mine. But instead of the requisite 10 years, they gave him one year."

Hermione sat up, "Bargained? What do you mean bargained?"

"Made a deal with a demon at a crossroads."

"I thought that was just a legend. Something Blues singers made up for amazing songs."

Sam sat up, turning to face her. "You'll learn that many of the legends that you know come from some place of truth."

Hermione took in his features. She knew he wasn't sleeping, they had been on the road together long enough for her to notice that. He still hadn't shaved. And now she can tell that he'd been crying. She couldn't imagine the guilt he was living with. That he was holding in, keeping to himself.

She stood from the bed and walked over to his, sitting down next to him. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to her. "It's not your fault. Dean made a choice. He did. You didn't make him make that choice. You can't be taking the blame for it."

Sam leaned into her embrace, resting his head on her shoulder, the weight of which felt comforting to Hermione. It had been a while since she had any intimate human contact with anyone. It was nice. She pressed her cheek into the top of his head, inhaling the clean smell of his generic shampoo.

"I can't help it," Sam said, quietly from his place on her shoulder. "All I can see when I close my eyes is him getting ripped to shreds by fucking invisible dogs. And Ruby's words echo through my mind. That I could have used my powers to stop it. And I refused. I didn't want to do it. Why would I do that? Why would I turn down the help I needed to save my brother? How selfish is that?"

"Not selfish. You can't just trust someone on their word. She's a demon. Who knew if what she was saying would have even helped? You didn't know that at the time. The clock was running out, and you did what you thought was the right choice at the time. I'm pretty sure you've told me this same thing before, you can't live your life with what ifs. Your brother must have loved you a lot in order to sacrifice his life for yours."

Sam gave a little laugh. "He was more of a father to me than my own father. He practically raised me while dad was out on jobs. I looked up to him."

Hermione smiled sadly. "How much older than you was he?"

"Four years," Sam said. "He was twenty-eight when he died. Didn't even make it to thirty."

"Wow. I'm twenty-eight," she said quietly. "So young."

"I didn't know you were Dean's age. Now I'm convinced even more that there was more that brought us together than just mere coincidence."

"Sam, there's no such thing as fate or destiny. It's just a coincidence."

Sam lifted his head from her shoulder, turning just enough so that he could look at her. Their eyes met, and Hermione's breath caught that the sincerity she saw there.

"What are the odds that in my lowest, darkest moment that a beautiful, intelligent woman, my brother's age would walk into my life, easily filling the gaping hole that he left behind after sacrificing himself for me? Before MACUSA contacted Bobby and you showed up, I was ready to go on a revenge mission, hell-bent on doing whatever it took to get revenge on Lilith. Even if it meant I wouldn't survive."

He paused.

"Did you know I went to the crossroads after he died? I was ready to make a deal with my soul for information about how to kill Lilith. And get Dean back. No one showed up. That's when I went to Bobby's. I was going to allow myself a couple weeks to mope, and then get back on the road, and kill that son of a bitch."

He took in a deep breath. "But then you showed up, and totally derailed my revenge plan. Instead, I get to go around the country chasing after the people who have hurt you, and it's nice. To have a hand in helping someone again. The last year, we spent it in recovery mode. All we were focused on was getting Dean out of his contract. And whatever else popped up along the way. Now, instead of spending my time focused on avenging Dean, I can focus on getting rid of these bastards."

Hermione smiled. "Well, I for one am glad that you have agreed to escort me around the country hunting these people. I would be lost without you. Literally. I don't know how to drive, and all these roads we've been driving on look the same. And I would walk into a den of vampires thinking they were the same as ours," she paused. "And it would be awfully lonely."

"It would be," Sam agreed, his voice dropping a few decibels in volume. "Very lonely."

"No one to debate the merits of a good book."

"Or research method."

"Or play silly roadside games with."

A comfortable silence fell between them, as Hermione noticed how close they were to each other. Her breath increased as she felt his body heat radiating off of him, allowing her to take in his very masculine scent. Her stomach flipped. Fuck, she was attracted to this man. The few weeks they had been on the road together, she hadn't even thought of Ron but a handful of times. And she was pretty sure Sam was attracted to her as well. She had caught him checking her out a few times when he didn't know she was looking.

She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as Sam surged forward, closing the gap between them, his lips capturing hers in a searing kiss. She was caught off guard for a split second before she began returning the kiss.

His lips pressed firmly against hers, moving almost desperately. She gasped, and his tongue darted into her mouth. She shifted, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer, until their chests were flush together. She felt his strong arms wrap around her waist, clinging to her tightly. She lost herself in the kiss. It had been forever since she had felt anything like it. Forever since she felt the thrill of being wanted. The passion of a simple kiss. It was exhilarating. It was…arousing.

She pulled back breaking off the kiss, pressing her forehead against his, closing her eyes, trying to catch her breath. They didn't move away from each other, they sat there, on his bed, in each other's embrace, trying to catch their breaths.

"Please don't tell me you regret this," Sam said, breaking the silence of the room. "Because I sure as hell don't."

She shook her head. "Don't regret this. At all. But.."

"No buts," Sam cut her off. "We both don't regret it. That's all that matters. Everything else? Everything else will work itself out. Okay?"

Hermione nodded.

"Good. I think maybe we should try and get some sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, sleep would be good."

"Maybe we could, um, both sleep in the same bed? Just sleep," he rushed to add. "Just sleep."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, yeah, that would be nice." She knew that neither of them slept well. She also knew the nights she had slept next to Ron were ones she slept better.

Sam pulled back, giving her a smile. He was really handsome when he smiled. "Great." He moved so that she had room to crawl into the bed next to him. They settled in, with her on her side, and Sam spooned up next to her. She hadn't fallen asleep so quickly in a long time.

SUPERPOTTER

Sam was startled awake, and for once it wasn't because of nightmares. They were being watched. He could feel it. He looked around the room, it was still dark, lit only by the bright lights in the parking lot leeching through the curtains of the room. He sat up, careful to not disturb Hermione, who was sleeping soundly next to him. He smiled as he thought about the kiss they had shared just a few hours before. It was some kiss.

He looked around again. The room was empty. However, he had to do a double take as he saw the shadowy figure of a person outlined through the curtains they had drawn earlier. He frowned, sliding to the side of the bed. He moved around the bed, quietly as to not disturb Hermione, and pulled on his jeans, never taking his eyes off of the shadow. He grabbed his gun off of the table, and palmed it, creeping slowly to the door, barefoot.

He slipped the chain out of the lock and then opened the door. He glanced back at Hermione, making sure he hadn't disturbed her. She was still out. He slipped out of the door, closing it quietly behind him. Then he turned to see a woman standing on the sidewalk, watching the window.

"Who are you, and what are you doing?" Sam asked, aiming the gun toward her.

"Sam," she said. "I've been trying to find you."

"Who are you? And how do you know me?"

"It's me, Ruby."

Sam shook his head. "Impossible. Lilith killed you."

"No, she banished me from my vessel. There's a difference. It took me a while to find a new one I liked, but as soon as I did, I started tracking Lilith thinking you were doing the same. But you weren't. It's taken me a while to find you. We need to start your training."

Sam shook his head. "Training? What training?"

"Your powers."

Sam closed his eyes. Everything was moving quickly. He couldn't believe that Ruby, supposedly, was standing right here. "What about my powers? You never explained that. I need to know more."

"How about you put that gun down, and we'll talk."

Sam shook his head. "No. You're going to tell me about my powers, now. Why didn't Lilith's work on me?"

Ruby shook her head. "I don't know. There's something about you that is different. That is unique. Something in your DNA. That's where your powers come in. You're the only thing that can stop Lilith."

"How?"

Ruby sighed. "Your powers."

Sam cocked his gun. "Stop being fucking vague. Tell me."

Ruby smirked. "Same old Sam. Not taking any bullshit. Usually it takes me a little while longer to push your buttons, but fuck, you're on edge. Must be losing your brother."

"Just tell me," Sam bit out, his patience slipping by the second.

"You have the ability to psychically exorcise demons," Ruby said, folding her arms across her chest. "With some training, and a little something 'extra' you can pull the demons out of their vessels, without hurting the vessel, and without having to speak the ritual. It cuts down on time, and it's more efficient. And it's the only way you can rid the world of Lilith. She's planning something. There's been a lot of demon activity and they've all started congregating at places where Lilith has been. We need to put a stop to it."

"We?" Sam asked. "Why would I work with you?"

"Because I'm the only way to get your powers where they need to be."

"You?"

"You need demon blood flowing through your veins in order to access the part of your powers to do this exorcism thing. And that's where I come in. I can give you my blood. I can train you to use your powers."

Sam scoffed. "And what do you want in return?"

Ruby smirked. "C'mon, Sam. You know what I want."

Sam looked confused. "No, I don't, actually."

"You, Sam, _you_. I want to finally act on this sexual tension between us."

Sam scoffed again. "Sexual tension? What the fuck are you talking about, Ruby?"

Ruby sauntered closer to him. "C'mon, Sam. You know it's there. You've felt it. When I was in the other vessel. The blond. And we had chemistry. It was there. Let's just act on it. Have a good fuck. Exorcise some demons."

"And, I need to drink demon blood?"

"It'll make you stronger," Ruby said. "Yeah, you can probably do your thing without it, but it would be easier if you had some of my blood in you."

"So, I don't need demon blood?"

"I mean, it would help."

Sam shook his head and turned away. "Is there ever a straight answer with you?"

"I told you what I want, Sam. I have been nothing but straight forward with you since I came and found you. You. Me. Training. And some fucking." She sidled up to him, pulling a knife out of her pocket. She ran the blade along her neck, breaking the skin. Sam watched as the blood trickled out. "Come on, Sam. Just a little taste, feel it coursing through your veins. Feel the power."

Ruby leaned into him, pressing up against him. Sam eyed the cut on her neck and swallowed hard, before pushing her back. "I think I'm going to pass. I don't think the person I'm traveling with would like it very much if I were to fuck you. And, well, I don't want to fuck you, so there's that."

Ruby took a step back, and looked at him with disgust. "You're traveling with someone?" she asked. And then she paused, and laughed. "Of course you are. If you were still alone, you would still be torn up about Dean. And bent on revenge. I should have figured it out the second I couldn't find you on Lilith's trail. Who is she?"

"Doesn't matter. None of your business. You leave her out of it."

"A little defensive there, Sammy," Ruby said. "And now I know you're traveling with another woman. Who is she?"

"None. Of. Your. Business," Sam repeated.

Ruby shrugged. "Fine. Don't tell me. And don't drink my blood or fuck me. Whatever. But know this. You'll be crawling back to me, Sam. When you can't figure this out on your own. And then you'll be _begging_ me to help you out," she didn't even wait for a response before ghosting out into the dark.

Sam stood for a few minutes in the dark before turning and letting himself into the room.

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione was jolted awake by the sound of the door to the room being thrown open.

Sam came crashing into the motel room, out of breath.

"Demon blood," he said.

"What?" Hermione asked, sitting up from where she was on the bed.

"Demon blood. That's what I need in order to destroy Lilith."

"Wait, slow down," Hermione said. "How do you know?"

"That demon, Ruby, she found us. She told me. She was waiting outside our room, watching us. I could sense her, so I went outside to investigate. She's been looking for me. She told me that when I ingest demon blood, I can focus my powers to psychically exorcise demons. It's the one way we can defeat Lilith."

"And she just volunteered all this information?"

Sam shook his head. "Well, kinda. She wanted to be the one to train me. She wanted to feed me her blood while we…" he trailed off.

"Oh," Hermione said, an ache in her chest forming. She thought that after all these weeks together, that there was something between them. She thought of the kiss, the sleeping in the same bed. But maybe she was reading into the situation too much. Maybe there wasn't anything between them.

"I turned her down," Sam said, quietly.

Hermione looked back up at him. "What?"

"I turned her down," he repeated.

"But, I thought you wanted to get rid of Lilith? If this is the only way…"

"Fucking Ruby is not the only way. We're both smart, now that we have the information, we can figure this out on our own. I don't want to sleep with Ruby," he paused, moving his gaze down to the carpet while he took a deep breath before looking back up at her. "I want to be with you."


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione stared at him, awestruck. She never imagined him to be so straight forward with her. It took Ron years to admit he even wanted to be with her at all. They had only known each other for a few weeks, and he was already telling her he wanted her…and only her.

"What?" she asked, just making sure she heard him right.

He walked over to the bed, and knelt down onto his knees in front of her. "I want to be with you. It's crazy this connection I feel with you, and it's not because of some misplaced notion of fate or whatever. I've felt it since we met, and I didn't want to do anything about it, because I didn't want to think I was just replacing my brother with you. That's not fair to you. But, as the weeks have gone by, I've realized that that's not what this is at all. I like you for you. I like spending time with you, I like talking to you, I like driving around the country with you."

"Sam, I feel the same way," Hermione said, quietly. "I've felt a connection with you almost immediately. And spending time with you, I feel like I can be myself. I don't have to tone down my excitement for a good book, I don't have to lower the register of my vocabulary, and I don't have to be embarrassed if I don't know something. And you're right. I was also afraid to act on anything right away. My husband just left me. I don't want you to be a rebound."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I understand. We don't have to get serious or anything right now. I just want you to know, that I'm not going to be sleeping with anyone else. Or looking at anyone else."

Hermione smiled. "Well, that goes for me as well. And I do think we need to take things one step at a time. I really don't want this to fizzle out and be a rebound. I want this to be something."

"Me too," Sam said, quietly. He leaned forward, closing the small gap between the two of them, capturing her lips with his. Hermione threw herself into the kiss, reveling in the feel of his mouth moving against hers. It was different than the first kiss they shared. This time it wasn't a rushed, spur of the moment decision. This was passionate and full of promises of things to come.

They pulled apart.

"We need to stop if we're going to take things slow," Sam said.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, that would be for the best."

They pulled apart, and Sam moved to sit on the bed opposite her.

"So, what exactly did Ruby say?" Hermione asked.

"She said that my powers will allow me to exorcise demons without hurting the vessels. So I would be ganking demons, but saving people. She mentioned that demon blood would make me stronger."

"Where would we get demon blood?" Hermione asked.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. She was offering up hers, obviously. We'll just have to research."

Hermione smiled. "You are speaking my language," she said with a laugh. "Okay, so we research. We have all of those books we took from Bobby's. So, do we just, um, find demons and practice your exorcism skills?

Sam shrugged. "I guess? I mean, since the gates to Hell were blasted open, it's not like there's a shortage of them. But, I don't want to make this about that. We still need to find Malfoy and Dolohov."

"And we will, but you've seen how shitty our intel has been. They've been one step ahead of us. What if we focus on this for a bit, and then we can pick up the fugitives as we get tips?"

Sam looked at her, in awe. "You would do this for me?"

"Of course," she said, without hesitation.

Sam smiled, and shook his head. "Okay, let's do this. Where should we start?"

"Well, we should definitely start with trying out your powers and seeing if you can do this without actually ingesting demon blood. And then we'll read up on what demon blood does when ingested, so we can see if we even want to try and get our hands on any."

"That's a good idea. Because I've never had to ingest demon blood before to make my powers work. They've just sort of happened. I've actually never really had much control over them."

"Okay, so let's start there. Let's focus on controlling your powers first, and then we can focus on seeing what we can do to enhance them."

"Did we just make a plan in like two minutes?" Sam asked with a smile.

"We did," Hermione said, returning his smile.

"We make a good team," Sam said.

"We do."

SUPERPOTTER

The Impala sped down the highway, the car filled with only the sound of Hermione turning pages in the book she was reading, and yet, Sam couldn't have been happier. They had gotten used to driving in silence since that first ride from Bobby's. As the weeks had gone by, the car filled with conversation as the two began to get to know each other better, but he still hadn't had the courage to turn on the music. He knew the second he turned it on, Bon Jovi would fill the car, and he would be reminded of Dean's last day on Earth.

He looked over at Hermione. She was flipping through a book on demon lore they had picked up from Bobby and cross referencing it with one of the books she had from the magical world. She was working so hard to figure out what they could do to help him. They were currently following a lead toward some known demon activity to see if they could bag themselves a demon to practice exorcising it so they could have a baseline.

"Fuck," Hermione exclaimed from the seat next to him.

"What?" Sam asked, trying to keep his eyes on the road.

"You are not going to ingest any demon blood, ever," Hermione declared.

"Why?"

Hermione began reading from the book, "While ingesting demon blood has been known to give the person ingesting it enhanced abilities, it is highly addictive and the user will develop a dependence of it."

"Shit," Sam said. "Yeah, no ingesting demon blood. And fuck Ruby. She probably knew all of this, and she insisted it was the only way for me to use my powers to defeat Lilith."

"She was probably hoping you would be desperate enough to get revenge for Dean you would be willing to do anything. And then she would get you addicted to her blood…"

"Fuck!" Sam exclaimed. "We can't trust her. We can't have her coming around us. I always felt she was on our side, but now, I don't know. And I've never been so thankful that you came around when you did, because if I had never met you, and she had approached me? I would have jumped at any chance to get revenge on Lilith, not even thinking about the consequences."

"I'm glad I came when I did, too. Reading the side effects of ingesting demon blood, and one of them is loss of humanity. The more you ingest, the closer you start resembling a demon. You would have lost yourself in the quest of revenge."

Sam reached across the seat, grabbing onto Hermione's hand, lacing his fingers through her, gripping it tight. They didn't say anything else, they were both thinking the same thing. If she hadn't come to MACUSA about the missing Death Eaters, and they hadn't paired her up with him, he would be lost by now.

SUPERPOTTER

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hermione asked from her place behind the steering wheel of the Impala.

"Of course!" Sam replied from the passenger seat. "You said you wanted to learn how to drive, and I can't think of a better time or place."

They were on their way back to Bobby's house. In the past two weeks they had captured a total of four demons. Sam had managed to successfully exorcise one. And even that was lucky. His powers gave him intense headaches and nosebleeds. They were beginning to see why Ruby had insisted that he use demon's blood to strengthen him. He was struggling to exorcise low rate demons, what was he going to do when he encountered Lilith? There's no way he would be able to go up against her.

That's when Hermione found a substitute in one of her potions books. There was a strengthening potion that they were going to try and see if that would help him. The problem was it took a few days to brew, so they were going to head back to Bobby's house to regroup, and then they would find another demon and try it out. It was the only thing they could think of. After learning about the side effects of drinking demon's blood, there was no way they were going to do that.

"Okay, so what do I need to do?" Hermione asked, her nerves showing through her voice.

Sam turned toward her. "Okay, so is your right foot on the brake?"

Hermione nodded.

"Great, so turn the key," she did, "shift the car into drive," she did, "slowly take your foot off the brake, and put it on the gas." She did as he said, and the car slowly started making its way down the abandoned two way highway Sam had found for them. It was just about sunset, and the road probably wouldn't see anymore traffic now that typical rush hour was over. So, Sam had pulled the car over and made Hermione get into the driver's seat. It was time for her to learn. And…she was doing very well.

"Holy, shit," she said, laughing loudly, her smile wide. "I'm actually driving!"

Sam let out an excited whoop, and moved his eyes to the road. They weren't moving very quickly, but she was driving steadily forward, staying in their lane. He turned back to look at Hermione, and she was staring at the road in front of her, not daring to take her eyes off of it. Her hands gripping the steering wheel like it was her job. Sam couldn't remember being this happy in a long time. He leaned over and switched on the radio, Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" blasted out of the the radio. And the only feeling he felt was joy as Hermione got a boost of confidence and sped them down the highway.

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione pulled the car to the side of the road. She had driven for the last hour. It was exhilarating. Sam even turned on the radio and they sang along to some classic rock songs as they sped down the highway. It was…magical. And that's coming from someone who had spent the last nearly twenty years in a world with real magic. She put the car in park, and shut down the engine before shifting in her seat to look at Sam.

He was looking at her with a look with such pride and he looked so…happy, that she just couldn't help what she did next. She practically leapt across the seat, moving so that she was in Sam's lap, straddling him. She didn't wait until she was kissing him.

Sam was caught off guard for a split second before he was returning the kiss, just as fervently. He brought his arms up, wrapping them around her waist, pulling her body tightly against his. Up until this point, they had been so careful to take things slowly. Not moving much past some kissing and a little making out in the motel rooms they were staying in. But hermione was ready. She knew that this man wasn't merely a rebound. There were some real feelings there.

Hermione pulled away from the kiss to catch her breath, and Sam trailed his mouth down the column of her neck. His hands began to move up and down the column of her spine until they reached her ass, gripping her cheeks tightly, pressing her down onto his growing arousal. She couldn't contain her moan as she felt his heat against hers.

Her moan must have encouraged him because he became much braver. His beard scratching against her skin as he moved back up to capture her mouth, one of his hands making its way up the back of her shirt, making contact with her skin. The skin to skin contact was euphoric. She reached between them and began unbuttoning his shirt. It didn't take long for her to master all of the buttons and she ran her hands up his sculpted chest.

Sam broke away from her neck long enough to pull her shirt over her head and toss it into the driver's seat. In the growing twilight around them, she watched as Sam took her in for the first time. She began to deflate a little when she noticed Sam's gaze immediately lock in on the scar that ran across her chest. Self conscious, Hermione brought her hands up and covered her chest.

Sam gave her a soft smile before removing her hands, and leaning forward placing a kiss along the scar, as he moved his hands behind her, unhooking her bra in the process. Sam continued to trail his mouth along her scar until she he reached her breast and began suckling on her nipple sending pleasure through her body, causing her hips to undulate against Sam's. As she moved against his erection, Sam threw his head back and sighed in pleasure.

"Should we, um, move to the backseat?" Sam asked, his voice coming out in pants.

Hermione nodded enthusiastically before climbing off of Sam and over the seats into the back of the car, immediately beginning to shed her shorts as soon as she landed. She heard Sam laugh, as he moved around the front and removed his denims before climbing into the back with her. Albeit having a little bit more difficult of time since he was a foot taller than her. Laughing together, Hermione couldn't remember a time when she was so happy with a partner. Things like this were never this way with Ron. If they were naked and she were laughing he would have thought she was laughing at him. Sam was laughing right along with her, wrapping her up in his long arms, pulling her toward him, pressing her body close to his.

Embracing him, she felt relaxed, and happy, and…in love? No, it was too early to be in love. But it was something along the path to that direction. Being in his arms felt so right. She sighed, and laid her head on his shoulder, feeling his soft, warm skin against her cheek. She looked up at him, and saw him looking down at her, totally serious, but a certain softness in his eyes. Sobered, she leaned up, capturing his mouth with hers. The kiss, less frantic than before heated up, and Hermione could feel Sam leaning her back so that they were laying across the bench seat, which was surprisingly accommodating to Sam's large stature.

Sam deepened the kiss, running his hands down her body until he met her center. Finding that she was more than ready, he circled around her clit a couple times before moving his hand and moving his body between her legs. He entered her in one stroke. As they moved together, Hermione lost herself in the sensations. The feeling of a body pressed against hers. The closeness this signified. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him even closer to her. Pressing together skin to skin, she lost herself in everything. It wasn't long before she could feel her climax coming, and based on the ragged breathing of the man above her, he wasn't too far behind her. Sam shifted and he began entering her and hitting her at just the right angle. Then it wasn't long before she was falling over the edge. She held on tight to Sam's shoulders as she rode out her orgasm, relishing in the feeling. Sam's thrusts became more erratic, and with a grunt, he, too, came, spilling his seed inside her.

They were still for a few minutes, the only sound in the car the sound of their breathing. Eventually Sam shifted them so that he was laying on the bench seat, and she was sprawled on top of him. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes as he ran his hand up and down her spine.

"What does 'Mudblood' mean?" Sam asked quietly, breaking the silence in the car.

She looked down and noticed her left arm was exposed and the scar was facing him. "Dirty blood. It's a derogatory term used against people like me who were born to Muggle parents."

"Did you get that when you were…"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah."

"Was it Malfoy?"

She shook her head. "No, it was his deranged sister-in-law. He stood by and watched it happen though. On his drawing room floor."

"Fucking bastard. Why does it look like it's not healed?"

"She used a cursed blade. I have to use special potions on it every morning to make it look like this, otherwise it doesn't look like its healed at all."

Sam tightened his arms around Hermione, holding her tightly against his body. She felt the comforting feeling of his beard scratch against her skin as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "We'll catch that bastard, I promise."

Hermione snuggled in against his chest, and nodded her head against him. It was nice to have someone in her corner again.


	12. Chapter 12

**For some reason Chapter 11 didn't have the last 1/4 of the chapter. it is fixed now, so I would go back and read it if you read it and it just cut off in the middle of the lemon. It's fixed now, and full of citrusy goodness. Now, on with the show!**

CHAPTER 12

Sam opened the door to Bobby's house, and shut it with his foot. He had gone for a grocery run since they were running out of key food items. They had been at Bobby's for a couple weeks. Hermione was having a hard time brewing the potion they needed. She had gone to MACUSA for some ingredients and some help. They were not too happy that she was taking on a side project, but when she explained that it would help everyone, they reluctantly agreed. Now she was working on the third version of the potion. Bobby was making some phone calls to find them more demons to practice on.

While waiting for the potion that would make him stronger, he had been practicing exorcising demons that Bobby would round up and trap in his demon's trap. It was slow going at first, but eventually he made it. He exorcised his first demon, and then it just started getting better from there. It was getting easier with each subsequent exorcism it was getting quicker, and smoother. However, the headache wasn't getting any better. It was still super killer. He was hoping whatever potion Hermione was concocting would be the ticket to making it not only easier, but helping his head not feel like exploding every time he saved someone.

He scratched his beard and moved into the kitchen to put the groceries away. He smiled to himself as he thought about the beard. It had quickly moved from being his mourning beard to him keeping it because Hermione liked it. He smiled thinking of their time together this summer. Ever since the Impala, they were now sharing a bed nightly. Well, almost nightly. He was pretty sure she never came to bed the night before. And his lack of sleep was the evidence of it.

He finished putting the groceries away and moved to the stairs. Hermione had set up a lab in on of the spare bedrooms upstairs. He was trying to stay out of her way since he really had no idea what brewing a potion entailed. He didn't want to risk her getting hurt by distracting her. He was really starting to care for her a lot. Being with her has really eased the pain of losing Dean, and he was starting to live again. The nightmares were lessening with each passing day. Bobby had even said he was looking better when they got there.

He began walking up the stairs but didn't make it very far when someone ran into him running down them. He caught Hermione in his arms and righted her. She looked up at him, the largest smile on her face.

"I did it!" she said, without preamble.

"Y-you did it?!"

"I did it! The potion set the way the book says it's supposed to, and it's ready to be tested. When Bobby gets a demon, we'll try it out, and it should help with the headaches, and maybe if your head doesn't feel like splitting in two, the pro-" she cut off abruptly.

"Hermione?!" Sam exclaimed, just barely catching her as she collapsed in front of him. As she fell into his arms, she began convulsing.

"Bobby!" Sam screamed, trying to hold her still enough so that she didn't get hurt.

Bobby came running into the room. "Shit," he exclaimed when he saw Hermione in Sam's arms.

"Her bag," Sam shouted at Bobby. "We need her bag. She takes this anti-seizure medicine in it. She needs to take it every morning."

"On it," Bobby said, sprinting up the stairs toward the bedroom they were staying in.

Sam looked down at Hermione convulsing on the floor and felt a lump forming in his throat. He was trying to keep it together, but flashbacks to watching his brother get ripped apart kept finding themselves to the forefront of his mind. He shook it clear and focused down on Hermione.

"Come on, Hermione," he murmured, holding her head between his hands to try and stabilize it. "Stay with me."

Footsteps thundered down the stairs and Bobby was back thrusting Hermione's bag at him, he took it as Bobby knelt down, taking his place stabilizing her head. He knew she took a potion every morning, and it was in her bag. He opened it, and shoved his hand in. He breathed a sigh of relief as his hand closed around a vial. He pulled it out and immediately recognized it as the correct potion. He uncorked it, and poured it carefully down Hermione's throat. It was a tense few seconds before she stilled.

Bobby let go of her head, as Sam scooped her up into his arms, holding her close. He buried his nose in Hermione's hair, taking comfort in her scent and feeling the feeling of her even breathing against him. His eyes stung with unshed tears as he allowed himself to feel everything he was holding in as he watched his girlfriend writhe on the floor.

"She's going to be okay," Bobby said, still kneeling on the floor next to them. "She's tough."

"I know," Sam choked out. He cleared his throat. "I know. It's just seeing her like that? I'm the reason she forgot to take her potion this morning. She was working on that potion for me. And seeing her on the floor like that was scary. I can't lose her like that. Especially not now, so close to Dean."

"I get it, Sammy. I do. It was scary. I care for the girl, too, you know. But she'll be fine. Don't go blaming yourself for this. Girl is dedicated to her work. And she cares about you. From what I can piece together from what she's told me about her past, she would do anything for the people she cares about. Why don't you take her up to your room. You both could use a rest. I have a few more phone calls to make, but I think I have a lead on a demon we can use to practice that potion on."

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione stirred. It felt like her head was full of cotton. She tried to move, but she couldn't due to the arm that was wrapped around her torso. She moved enough to see Sam wrapped around her completely. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened and how she ended up in bed, and tensed. She had forgotten her potion this morning, and she had an episode. Her first in a long time. She rolled enough to look at Sam. She must have terrified him. She lifted her hand and ran it down his face.

He opened his eyes, giving her a sleepy smile. "How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice rough with sleep.

"Like my head is made of marshmallows."

Sam smiled. "I bet." He sobered. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" she asked, confused.

"You were working on a potion for me, to help me with my powers, and you forgot to take care of yourself. You could have died…"

"No," Hermione said. "I wouldn't have died. The seizure would have ended and I would have been exactly where I am now. The potion I take controls the symptoms of being held under the _Cruciatus_ curse. It's been a long time since I've had an episode, or seizure, but I still get them occasionally, whether I take the potion or not. Being late with one potion wouldn't send me into an episode like that. It was probably building up for a while. It was probably triggered by all the extra stimuli of working on this potion for the last few weeks. So, please don't blame yourself."

Sam leaned forward, placing a kiss on her lips. "I'm glad you're okay. It was so scary."

"Sam Winchester, hunter of monsters and demons of all kinds was scared of a witch having a little seizure?" Hermione teased.

"Sam Winchester was scared watching the woman he loves writhe around on the floor and not knowing what to do," Sam replied quietly.

Hermione froze. "Love?"

"I know, I know it seems really early to use that word, but I can't deny what I feel. And I know from experience, in my line of work tomorrow is never promised, so you have to live for today. And I'm not of the mind to just deny my feelings or beat around the bush." He paused, taking a breath. "I was in love before, back when I was at Stanford. Her name was Jessica and I was pretty sure she and I were going to get married. The yellow-eyed demon killed her. It's what brought me back into the family business. Since then, I've been afraid to get close to anyone else. And my job didn't allow me to get close to anyone else. And then I met you. And you, you are everything I've been missing in my life. And at the same time, I'm terrified that something is going to happen to you."

"I love you, too," Hermione responded, with a smile. "I've felt this way for a while now. And I just didn't want to say anything because it felt ridiculously soon. I mean, the last person I was in love with I had known since I was eleven, and it happened gradually over such a long time. So, falling love over the course of months? That is so surprising to me. And I have my own fears about this, so you're not alone."

"I'm not going to cheat on you," Sam said, knowing exactly what she was referencing. "I am having a hard time wrapping my head around why your ex cheated on you. I don't see what he saw. These scars? I think they just make you more beautiful. They show how brave you are. How you can hold your own in a fight. How you won't let just anything get you down. And I think that's fucking sexy as hell."

Hermione closed the gap between them, capturing Sam's lips in a searing kiss. Sam returned it, just as feverishly. It didn't take long before they were removing clothes and Sam entered her. Their lovemaking was fast and passionate, all their newly revealed feelings coming through every stroke, kiss and moan. It didn't take long before they were following each other over the edge.

In the afterglow, Hermione laid across Sam's chest, tracing the outline of his anti-possession tattoo.

"Is there a tattoo parlor nearby?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, there's one not too far from here, why?"

"I think it's time I got one of these," she said, placing her hand across his tattoo. "I don't want to take any chances that I'll get separated from my charm and a demon will possess me. I don't want to run the risk of them using me against you in any way. Well, through possession at least."

"No, that's actually a really good idea. I probably should have pushed to get you tattooed earlier. It just wasn't something that I thought about. We were so busy trying to hone my powers and find the missing wizards that it just didn't cross my mind."

"Well, I didn't even think about it until recently when I've started seeing you without your shirt on on a regular basis," Hermione said with a smile.

"Yeah, I can see how that would bring it into the forefront of your mind."

Hermione sighed, laying her head on his chest. "Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

SUPERPOTTER

Sam stood in front of the demon Bobby had strapped to a chair in his library. He lifted up the vial that Hermione had handed him just moments before. It was the potion that was supposed to make him stronger. To make the exorcism go smoother. He sniffed it and made a face. That smelled rank.

"Don't smell it," Hermione laughed from behind him. "And try not to taste it either. Just try and down it all in one gulp. It should start working within seconds. At least that's what the book said."

Sam nodded, tipping the vial into his mouth, grimacing at the acrid taste that it left as it made its way down his throat. He closed his eyes and waited. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel different, because he definitely didn't feel any different.

"Sam, give it a try," Hermione said.

"I don't feel anything," Sam said.

"Just try," she repeated.

Keeping his eyes closed, he raised his hand toward the demon, who was spewing all kinds of things about vengeance and Lilith, and blah blah blah. He wasn't really listening. He was focusing his energy into his hand. Visualizing the demon leaving the body. Quickly, he heard the sounds of the demon being pulled out of the possessed body, and then it was over. Just like that. He opened his eyes. The man who was being used as a vessel was slumped over in his chair, but he was breathing. He turned around and looked at Hermione and Bobby who were both staring at him in awe.

"Well, shit," Bobby said, the first to speak. "That went a hell of a lot faster than the last few."

"A lot faster," Hermione breathed. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," Sam said. "I feel fine. No headache, I'm not tired. I don't feel like I, uh, actually don't feel like I've done anything at all. That took literally no exertion from me."

"So, it worked?"

"Yeah, it worked."

Hermione jumped up and down, squealing. Bobby turned and scooped her up in a hug and spun her around, before she ran across the floor and leapt into his arms. He held her tightly against him. It worked. They didn't have to resort to ingesting demon blood. It worked.

"Fuck, I love magic," Sam said against her neck.

Hermione laughed, "It has its uses."

"Thank you so much," Sam said. "I think with this potion we can actually stand a chance against Lilith."

"I mean, we should probably practice a few more times, but yeah, we do. It will help a lot. With my wand and your whatever, we might be able to take her down, stop her from whatever her big plan is."

"Stop her, stop your wizards, and then what will we do?"

Hermione shrugged. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Sam smiled, "I like this."

"Me too."

The phone rang in the background, and they heard Bobby move to go answer it. Things were really starting to line up for the better. He was mastering his powers, he had a great girl. Maybe once they iced Lilith and arrested the rogue wizards they could come back here, but their lives in order and then…retire? Keep hunting? He really didn't know what they would do. Could they just walk away from the life?

His thoughts were interrupted as Bobby came running into the room.

"You two need to hop into the Impala right now and get to Ohio. There's shit going down. The demons are all gathering there, and rumor has it Lilith is in the area. Not only that, those wizards have been spotted along with her."

"Wait," Hermione said. "You're telling me that Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov have teamed up with Lilith?"

"Yep, Freckles, that is exactly what I'm saying," Bobby responded.

"Fuck!" Sam exclaimed running his hands through his hair. "This is not good."

"No, this is indeed the opposite of good," Bobby replied.

"So, what do we do? We're not ready to take on Lilith," Hermione said.

"No, but we can take down the wizards," Sam said. "If we hurry, we can get there, and take them out of the equation. Lilith having two powerful wizards at her disposal is not what we need right now."

"That's a good idea. But we need to hurry, before they catch word that we're onto them. I don't know how they're doing it, but they've been one step ahead of us all summer."

"Go upstairs and grab the bags, and I'll meet you at the Impala. I'll grab us some food so we don't have to stop too often."

Hermione nodded, she stopped and gave Bobby a hug before running off to gather their things.

"I'm going to need you to be careful, Sammy," Bobby said. "Don't be an idjit and go after Lilith. You two stick to your plan. Take those men out of the equation and then get the hell back here so we can regroup and figure out our next step. Don't put that girl in any unnecessary danger because you have a vendetta."

Sam nodded. "I won't. I understand the risks, and even though Hermione can hold her own, I know I'm not ready to confront Lilith. I need more practice. We'll grab the wizards for MACUSA and do whatever it is we need to do, and we'll be back here. Hopefully the bastards won't be tipped off. I'm tired of chasing them across the country."

Bobby chuckled, "I'll agree with you on that. You two just get back to me safely, you hear?"

Sam nodded. "You can count on it."


	13. Chapter 13

Sam threw the Impala into park when the reached the curb to the motel they knew Malfoy and Dolohov were supposed tobe holed up in. They opened the doors and jumped out, not bothering to close the doors not wanting the sound of them closing to alert the men to their presence. The entire drive they laid out their plan. They didn't want to risk not being on the same page and fucking up the capture of the men they had been chasing across the country. Hermione was the lead, since she had her wand, but Sam was going to stay close this time with his gun drawn. If either one looked like they were going to run, he was to fire at will.

Hermione was full of nervous excitement. This was the day she had been waiting for for a long, long time. It was time to apprehend these men, and finally be able to put the war behind her.

She took a deep breath as they moved toward the motel room. She had cast a charm to pinpoint for magical signatures in the motel as they approached, so they knew which room. They approached quietly. She could feel hope building up inside her. This could be it. This could be it. They could finally have caught them. They didn't seem to be moving. And they were the only two people in the room. This almost seemed too easy. She hesitated. What if they were walking into a trap?

They stopped at the door and she took a deep breath. Sam moved to press himself against the wall next to the door. Gun in hand, he signaled to Hermione to make her move. She took a deep breath and blasted the door open. She moved quickly into the room and didn't hesitate when she just saw the two men lounging on their beds watching the telly. She fired off one shot at Malfoy, and he went down. Immobilized. She turned her wand toward Dolohov, but the element of surprise was gone, and he had his wand drawn.

He fired off a curse, and she blocked it easily. She fired a curse, and he blocked. They parried back and forth for several minutes. Each blocking curses thrown by the other with ease. She was so distracted blocking curses thrown at her by Dolohov, she didn't notice his subtle wand movement toward Malfoy until it was too late. Just as Dolohov threw another curse at her, Malfoy emerged from his place on the floor, wand in hand.

"Crucio," Malfoy shouted out, his curse hitting true, Hermione falling to the ground with a scream as the curse hit her.

As she writhed on the ground, she vaguely noticed as Sam came into the room, and the sound of a gun going off. Twice. She relaxed against the ground as the curse released her, and closed her eyes as silence filled her ears. Her body felt like it was on fire, but she wasn't under the curse for long, so she would be fine in a few minutes.

"Hermione?" she heard Sam shout as he dropped next to her.

"Malfoy and Dolohov?" she asked.

"Well, apparently they didn't prepare themselves for Muggle weaponry. I was able to get some shots off and then I put those magical handcuffs on them. They're currently bleeding on the floor. Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, sore. Super sore. But I'll survive. Just give me a minute. I need to send a Patronus to the aurors so they can come and get these guys."

"This seemed a bit too easy, don't you think?"

"I think they got confident. Let their guards down. Whoever has been passing on our movements to them must have dropped the ball. For the first time in months they weren't expecting us."

With an assist from Sam, Hermione sat up from the ground and cast a Patronus with their location and the information that they had apprehended Malfoy and Dolohov. She stood up and walked over to the two men on the ground. Malfoy was unconscious again, he must have hit his head on the table after he was shot, but Dolohov was conscious, gritting his teeth at the pain in his shoulder.

"You got lucky, lapochka. But don't think this is the end. We got out before, we'll get out again. Malfoy has deep pockets and friends in high places. When we get out, you better be impossible to find, because next time, I will kill you."

Hermione smirked. "We'll see. Things have changed, Dolohov. I think you'll find that Malfoy's influence has waned in the years you've spent on the run. You should get used to the idea of spending the rest of your life in a cell."

Hermione walked away, and out the door of the motel. She collapsed to the ground outside the door, her hands shaking. She could feel the aftereffects of the curse coursing through her body. Fuck, it never stopped being painful.

She felt Sam drop down beside her, and she took comfort as he wrapped her in his embrace. She could feel tears pricking her eyes as relief flooded her body.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sam's quiet voice asked from beside her.

She nodded her head.

"You're shaking, and you're crying. I don't know if I believe you. I know you're strong, you don't need to put on a front for me. I love you."

Hermione started crying harder. "Everything hurts," she said. "I will never get used to this feeling. But I'm fine really. I'm just so relieved. It's finally over."

Sam was quiet next to her. "Do you need to go back to London now that it's all over?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I never even thought about it, honestly." She paused, feeling a tightness in her chest. "Fuck. Now I'm getting sad. I don't want to leave. But my work…" she trailed off, taking a shaking breath.

"Hey, let's not think about it right now, okay? I mean, we knew this was supposed to be temporary, but I don't think either of us could predict that…"

"That we would end up falling in love in such a short amount of time," Hermione finished.

"Yeah, that."

"Well, like you said, there's no point in worrying about anything right now," Hermione said, taking one last shuddering breath. "We need to face the aurors, and they need to give me the potion to stop this damn shaking, and then…"

"And then we'll either have to say goodbye, or…"

"Go back to the motel and have hot celebratory sex," Hermione finished, with a cheeky grin.

"Fuck, I hope you get to stay," Sam said, his voice husky.

Hermione looked up at him with a cheeky grin, "Me too."

SUPERPOTTER

Sam slammed the door of the motel room behind him and grabbed the witch who entered the room before him, spinning her so that she was pinned against the door. She was staying. Indefinitely. Turns out she had a lot of time saved up, and when she talked to the person in charge in London (King Somebody?), he basically ordered her to take some time off. As much as she needed. And she didn't even hesitate before agreeing. They had given their statements to the wizard police, they got Hermione patched up, and sped all the way back to their hotel. He couldn't wait as they slammed their way into the motel room.

He captured her lips in a passionate kiss as Hermione began to work on the buttons of his shirt. He helped Hermione get it down his arms before he broke away from the kiss long enough to rip her shirt over her head. They laughed, and helped each other out of their jeans, taking their underwear down with them. He didn't waste any more time before recapturing her lips, bringing his hands under her ass and bringing her up to meet him. He groaned as her legs wrapped around his waist, bringing her moist heat against his cock. He brought a finger between them, feeling that she was indeed ready for him. And then he slid himself inside of her, both groaning in ecstasy as they joined.

They moved together, reveling in the feel of each other. Sam drove into Hermione like a man dying of thirst. For a split second he thought he was going to lose her in a blink of an eye. But he didn't. She stayed. Even though her case was done, she stayed. With him. The only other person in the world who would do that for him, give up their life to be with him, was Dean, and he was gone. Now he had this fucking amazing woman. And he couldn't be happier. He knew that between the two of them, they would be able to get rid of Lilith. He just knew it. And then? And then they could do whatever the fuck they wanted.

He lost himself to the feeling of what they were doing. Enjoying the feel of Hermione wrapped around him. Her wet heat surrounding him as he moved. The feel of her nails digging into his back. His body was coiled tightly, and he knew he was going to explode at any minute. He reached his hand between them, and ran his fingers over her button and that was all Hermione needed to fall apart around him. He moved his hand out and drove into her a few more times before he followed her over the edge.

As they came down from their high, he held her tightly against him, as they slid down to the floor, still leaning against the door. He rearranged them so that he was the one with his back to the door, and Hermione was gathered in his lap.

"Fuck," Hermione said, breathing out. "If this is what we do after capturing two wizards, I don't want to know what the sex is going to be like after we get rid of Lilith."

Sam laughed. "It'll be epic."

Hermione laughed along with him, and leaned her head against his chest, tucking it under his chin.

"I'm so glad you have so much vacation time that you're able to stay with me a while," Sam said after a few minutes.

"Honestly? I was going to stay whether I had vacation time or not."

"Really?" Sam was surprised. She loved her job.

"Yeah, I don't think I can leave you. And maybe I don't want to do this anymore. MLE. I've kinda fallen in love with this life. The traveling from place to place. Hunting things. Saving people. Maybe this is my calling."

"But then we would have to go back to questionable means of getting money. I'm a fugitive. Is this really the life you want?"

"I have a lot of money, Sam. A lot. Wizarding money converts really well into Muggle money. We would be fine for a while. And with the fugitive thing, there are spells to disguise your features, we can make new IDs. It'll all work out. You worry too much."

"I just want to make sure this is something you want. Long term. Because I wanted out of this life. I got out of this life. For years I lived a normal life. But now that I'm back in it? I think this is it. I don't think I'm going to get out of it. So I want you to be sure that this is something that you want."

"Well, I don't want you out there on your own. I want you to have back up. So, how about this. We'll make this a trial period. Now that my mission is out of the way, and we are officially going to be doing your thing for real, we'll give it until my leave is up, and then re-evaluate. Does that make you happy?"

"It does," Sam answered. "Because I know how much you love your job, and you have a life in England. I don't want you to give up everything for me."

"I'm not giving up everything for you. I'm making a change for me. But I understand your hesitation. And it's why I love you so much."

She tilted her head up and smiled at him. He glanced down at her and smiled. He bent down, placing a kiss on her lips. He pulled back and rested his cheek on the crown of her head, closing his eyes.

Their moment was interrupted by a pounding on the door. They pulled apart and looked at each other, confused. It was getting late, and there really shouldn't be anyone at the door. They stood up and Sam pulled on his jeans hastily, and tossed Hermione his button-up.

"Who is it?" Sam asked, as he reached down into his bag, pulling out his gun.

"Bobby," came the muffled answer through the door.

He glanced over at Hermione, and saw that she had finished buttoning the buttons. She nodded at him, and he moved to the door. He opened it and saw Bobby standing outside, and he wasn't alone. Beside him stood his brother who was supposed to be dead.

"Bobby, what the fuck?" Sam exclaimed, holding his gun up, pointing it at the impostor.

"Sam, put down the gun," Bobby said. "It's really him, I've done all the tests. It's really him."

Sam looked over Bobby's shoulder, directly at his brother. "Dean?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean said, his mouth tilting up into a half smile. "Nice beard."


	14. Chapter 14

Sam just stood there, staring. His brother was alive. And standing in the door way of their motel.

"Are you going to invite us in, or are we just going to stand out here, attracting all sorts of attention?" Bobby asked.

"Um…" Sam started, glancing behind him at Hermione, who was looking at him confused while wearing just his shirt. "Well…"

"We're coming in," Dean said, pushing his way past Bobby and Sam and into the room.

"Oi!" Hermione exclaimed as Dean made his way into the room, causing him to stop short.

"Well, hello," Dean said, turning his smirking face to Sam. "Who's this?"

Sam let Bobby into the room and shut the door behind them. "This is Hermione, my girlfriend. Hermione, this is my brother, Dean."

"But, I thought…?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, so did I," Sam said, moving next to her. "What happened? How are you…here?"

Dean shrugged. "I honestly don't know. One minute I was in Hell, and the next I was digging myself out of my own grave. It doesn't make any sense. I went straight to Bobby, and he said I had just missed you guys. At first I didn't think about the plurals he was using, but now it makes sense. We drove here to catch up with you. I needed to see you."

Sam felt his throat constrict, and he swallowed hard, tears beginning to prick his eyes. "It's really you?"

Dean nodded. "It's really me."

Sam closed the gap between the two of them, and wrapped his brother in a tight hug, which was promptly returned, just as tightly. Sam let out a sob that he was holding in. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would ever be reunited with his brother.

"I'm going to just um…" he heard Hermione say behind him, and a few seconds later he heard the door to the bathroom shutting. She must be going to get dressed.

He pulled back from Dean, noticing that his brother's eyes were just as wet as his. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Yeah, same. I didn't think…" Dean trailed off. "Anyway, Bobby brought me here because you and I need to figure out what brought me back."

"Do you have any ideas?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head. "No. But the woods surrounding my grave were wiped out, looked like a bomb had gone off. And then when I was in the convenience store nearby, there was a loud screeching sound causing the windows to blow out, and I also discovered this." Dean unbuttoned the top couple buttons of his shirt, pulling it aside to reveal a red hand print on his shoulder.

Sam was confused. He had never heard of anything Dean was describing. "We'll figure it out."

"I know we will," Dean said. Then he switched gears, and smirked, pointing at the bathroom door. "So how long has this been going on?"

Sam smiled. "Um, we met a few weeks after you…" he trailed off, clearing his throat. "But we didn't become more than platonic until about a month or so after that."

"How'd you guys meet?"

Sam and Bobby exchanged a look. How much should they tell him?

"I was in pursuit of two fugitives and I was assigned to work with Bobby. He pawned me off on your brother," Hermione said as she re-entered the room.

"Fugitives? What kind of fugitives?" Dean asked.

Hermione and Sam exchanged a look, and she shrugged. She turned back to Dean and was about to answer him when she cried out and collapsed against herself. She had warned him that this would probably happen at random intervals over the next couple days.

"Freckles," Bobby cried out, rushing to her side, wrapping an arm around her, and helping her ease down onto the bed. "Are you alright? What happened since you left me?"

"Well, we found them, and we captured them, but not before they got a few good shots in as well. But Sam was quick thinking and he has a quick trigger finger. I'll be fine in a couple days, once the aftershocks from the curse wear off."

"Curse?" Dean spoke up. "Are you a hunter, too?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not a hunter. Well, I guess I am now, but no. And before I tell you what I am, I want you to hand Bobby your gun, because I just don't have the energy right now to defend myself against you."

"Are you a demon?" Dean asked, immediately growing angry.

"No," she said. "Not at all."

"Then what the hell are you?" Dean asked.

"Promise not to shoot her?" Sam said.

"I mean, I guess? I mean you and Bobby seem to trust her, so there is really no reason why I shouldn't trust you as well. So what are you?"

"I'm a witch, and before you jump to conclusions, I have not made a deal with a demon. I am a born witch. We exist, but especially here in the states, we tend to stay to our own world. I was born with my magic, and I use a wand to cast spells. I went to school, and I currently work for the magical government."

Dean just stared at her, his eyes narrowed. "You work for the government?"

Hermione laughed. "Out of all of that, that's what you focus on?"

"Well, Sammy and I are fugitives, and legally I've been dead for a while now, so just making sure what we're up against here."

"I don't work for your government. I work for the magical government, so you don't have to worry. Unless you're secretly a wizard who is breaking secrecy laws, or something like that."

"No, not a wizard," Dean said with a smirk. "Pretty sure I don't want to be a wizard."

"Nah," Sam said. "You definitely want to be a wizard. Wait until you can see some of the stuff she can do. You'll wish you were lucky enough to be able to do what she can. She's really changed the way I hunt."

"Really?" Dean said, turning back to scrutinize Hermione. Sam watched as several emotions flashed through his brother's eyes as he observed his girlfriend.

"Really," Sam said, as he tried to figure out what was going through Dean's mind.

"Sam, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Dean said, not even waiting for Sam to answer before heading to the door, opening it, and stepping through.

Sam glanced over at Hermione who was sitting on the bed, shrugging at him.

"Go," Bobby said, settling himself next to Hermione. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on Hermione for you. I need to know the whole story about what happened tonight anyways."

Sam nodded, turned and walked out the door. He made it out the door and shut it behind him before Dean started on him.

"So, I die and you get a new partner?"

"What was I supposed to do Dean? You were dead," Sam defended.

"I don't know, but it just seems a little soon. And what's with the depression beard?"

"She likes it," Sam said, with a shrug. "So I kept it. And I'll have you know, I was on Bobby's couch for a long time. A long time. An unhealthy amount of time. I wasn't going to hunt anymore. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Right after I went to a crossroads to try and make a deal, but no one showed up. I had rough ideas about seeking revenge against Lilith, and I never had a chance to act on them. I was listless. And then Bobby got the call from MACUSA and Hermione showed up on his doorstep needing a hunter to take her around to find some assholes who were on the run from their government and trying to recruit American monsters. So I went with her. She taught me about magic, I taught her about hunting."

"And then you started fucking," Dean supplied.

Sam sighed. "Dude, what's your problem?"

"I don't know, I just thought that after Jess you were done with relationships. And I get back and you're with someone. It's jarring."

"Would you have rather I just spent the rest of my life alone? Is that it?"

"No," Dean said. "No, just…I guess I would have thought it would have taken you longer to meet someone to replace me. That's all."

"Oh my god," Sam said, running his hands through his hair. "You've been here like ten minutes and you're jealous? Of my girlfriend? Because I'm not alone? Am I getting this right?"

"I'm not jealous," Dean said. "I'm not, I'm just…" he trailed off. "Okay, fine. I'm jealous. I expected to come back here and find you hunting, but alone. And then we could just pick up where we left off. First case: who the fuck pulled me out of hell, so we can kill the son of a bitch. Because I'm pretty damn sure it's a demon."

"We can still do that. We'll just have Hermione with us."

"She's going to stick around?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, she just took leave from work so she could keep traveling with me. We're going to reevaluate at the end of her leave, but she's really thinking about quitting her job to stay with me full time," Sam explained.

"Wow," Dean said. "That's serious."

"I love her."

Dean was quiet for a minute. Deep in thought. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay, I'll get to know her, for the trial period and then at the end of her leave, I get to sit down while we reevaluate the situation to make sure I'm okay with us all traveling together. Deal?"

"Okay," Sam said. "You can sit in, but if it's two against one for her staying, then you may not get ultimate say. I'm not going to let you drive her away."

"Fine," Dean said. "I won't drive her away. But I don't have to like her either."

"You don't even know her," Sam said. "How do you know you won't like her?"

"Because she's a witch," Dean stated, matter-of-factly.

Sam shook his head. "Just wait a bit before you make any lasting conclusions, okay? Bobby loves her, too, you know."

Dean shook his head, before opening the door to the room and going inside. Sam took a deep breath before following him. When he got back inside, he saw that Hermione and Bobby were in deep research mode. Hermione was reading one of the books they had grabbed from Bobby's earlier in the summer and Bobby was on the laptop.

"What are you guys doing?" Sam asked.

"Trying to see if we can figure out what pulled Dean out of Hell," Hermione answered, not taking her eyes off the page in front of her. "Dean, are you certain it was a demon?"

"Yeah, I mean, what else could it be? It had to be a demon, who then used me to hitch a ride out of there."

Hermione nodded, "That's what we've concluded as well. But which one is the ultimate question. What do you remember about your time in Hell? Maybe that could help us narrow it down if it's one you had a poor experience with in the past."

Dean shook his head. "I don't remember anything about being down there. I'm sorry."

Hermione looked up from her book, compassion on her face. "Don't be sorry. You've just experienced a major trauma and come back from it. You don't need to be sorry that your mind has blocked all of that out."

Dean held her gaze for a few minutes, and Sam held his breath, waiting to see how Dean would react to this.

"Thanks, Glinda," Dean said, softly with a slight smirk. "I love how you consider me dying and going to Hell only a major trauma. Makes it sound so normal."

"Well, when you've been through everything that I have, the definition of normal seems to shift a bit."

"What have you been through?" Dean asked, moving closer to her, his hands in his jeans pockets.

Hermione glanced toward Sam, and he nodded toward her. She turned back to Dean. "In my world, there was a war in Great Britain. Well, several, actually, but the most recent one occurred when I was in school. I helped fight alongside my friends. So, my definition of normal is pretty skewed."

Dean observed her before nodding his head. "Okay, I'm starting to see what Sam sees in you. I'm going to give you a chance."

Hermione smiled. "Glad to know."


	15. Chapter 15

"Wait," Hermione said, staring at Dean and Bobby. "You were pulled from Hell by an angel?"

Dean nodded as he bit into the burger he brought back with him. "Yep. Castiel he said his name was."

"Why? Not that I'm not grateful that he did, but why would an angel go into hell and pull you out?" Sam asked, passing Hermione her salad.

Dean shrugged. "No clue. He said he was ordered to, or something like that. I have a higher purpose. Some bullshit like that," he said through his mouthful of burger.

"Wow," Hermione said. "I can now add angels to the list of things that really exist."

"Yep," Bobby said. "You would think after all the shit I've seen I wouldn't be so in awe of an angel."

"Well," Hermione said. "It is an angel."

"But can we trust him?" Dean asked, crumpling the paper of his burger and tossing it in the general direction of the garbage.

"Dean," Sam said, "He's an angel."

"He blinded Pamela," Dean said. "That's one strike against the angel."

"I don't think we should write him off," Hermione said. "What if he can help us against Lilith?"

"She's right," Sam agreed. "We can't just rely on these powers I have. We could use some back up."

"Fine," Dean said. "We don't gank the angel. But we can be leery of him. Deal?"

"Deal," Sam agreed.

"Now, explain to me more about what these powers are?" Dean asked, perched on the edge of the bed.

SUPERPOTTER

Sam shut the trunk of the car after putting the last of the bags in the car. They had just wrapped up a job wiping out some vampires. He had to admit it was nice having Hermione back them up. At first Dean was very leery about her going into jobs with very little hand to hand experience, and no gun, but once he saw her flick her wand and cause a werewolf mid-lunge fall flat to the ground, he quickly changed his tune. In fact, he often found them laughing together. It made him happy that the two people he was closest to were getting along.

The only frustrating thing was they were no closer to Lilith. Castiel had told them she was breaking the seals to Hell in order to free Lucifer from his cage. But the problem was they couldn't get ahead of her, and they had no idea what any of these seals were. All they could do was follow leads and hope that they would eventually catch up and eliminate her.

He turned around to return to the motel room, which the three of them were sharing, which made having any alone time with Hermione almost impossible. That was probably more frustrating than not being able to capture Lilith. Dean was always there. It was growing increasingly more difficult to be intimate with Hermione. They could occasionally find a spare half hour here or there, but when you're in the buds of a new relationship, it was just not enough.

He took a step back to the room to tell Hermione and Dean it was time to go, but stopped short when someone appeared in front of him. Zachariah was standing there, with a grim look on his face.

"Hello, Sam," he said.

"Zachariah," Sam said.

"We need to talk."

"Well, let's go in and you can talk to all of us."

"No, I just want to talk to you."

Sam frowned. "What about?"

"The seals, Sam. They're opening faster than a kid opening presents on Christmas morning."

"We're trying, but we don't have any leads to go on. If you guys could give us some hints about where they are, we can go and stop them."

"We'll work on that. I'll send Castiel when we know more," Zachariah said.

"Sounds good," Sam said, moving to go around Zachariah.

"She's getting really close to your brother, have you noticed?"

"What?" Sam said, stopping.

"Your witch. I've been watching the two of them together. They're getting pretty close."

Sam turned back to face Zachariah, scoffing. "Well, I would hope so. We spend all our time together. I want my brother and the woman I love to get along, be close."

"Do you ever wonder if they're fucking?" Zachariah asked, cocking his head to the side.

"No," Sam answered immediately.

"Really? I would," Zachariah said. "I mean, they're the same age. They both have dark pasts. They seem to be getting pretty comfortable with each other. You leave them alone quite often, to pick up food, load the car," Zachariah turned and pointed at the window to the motel room, where the curtains were still drawn. "How do you know they're not taking advantage of the time they have alone right now to get in a quickie?"

Sam frowned. "Because they wouldn't do that. I trust them. And Hermione loves me, not my brother."

Zachariah shrugged. "Alright. You're a better man than I would ever make. Find those seals, Sam. Stop them from opening. Stop Lilith, by any means possible."

"We will. We've been practicing. I've gotten stronger," Sam said, relieved to have the subject change.

"Are you sure that what you and the witch are doing is enough?" Zachariah asked. "That you'll be strong enough when the time comes?"

"Yes," Sam answered, this time with a little hesitation.

"Well, good for you. Just remember. You need to be top of your game. And you need to destroy Lilith by any means necessary."

Before Sam could respond, Zachariah was gone, leaving Sam standing alone in the parking lot. He shook his head and headed to the room to tell Hermione and Dean it was time to go. All the while, these new doubts were niggling in the back of his mind.

SUPERPOTTER

"A cat?" Dean laughed from his spot behind the wheel of the Impala. Since returning from the dead, he had taken his place behind the wheel, and very rarely did Sam or Hermione drive. Which was fine by Hermione. The few time she had driven, she realized it wasn't really her thing. She was happy to leave the driving to the boys.

"Yes," Hermione said, grinning from the passenger seat. "A cat."

"Like did you have a tail? Whiskers?"

"And fur, yes. I was turned into an actual cat," Hermione confirmed.

Dean laughed. "Oh my god. I bet you made a pretty pussy," he said, looking her way with a smirk on his face.

"Haha," she said, shoving his shoulder with her hand. "You're so original, I've never heard that one before."

Dean laughed again. "Can you still tell where the tail was? Hey, Sammy," he called over his shoulder to where Sam was sitting in the back seat. "When you're fucking can you tell she used to be a cat? Does she groom you? Oh hey, Glinda, can you lick your own-"

"Shut up, Dean," Sam said, from the back of the car, so harsh it caused them to sober up a bit.

Hermione turned to look at Sam, and he was glaring at the two of them, frowning.

"Hey, Sam, it's okay," Hermione said. "He's just taking the piss. I'm not offended."

"Well, I am," Sam bit out. "Our sex life is none of his business."

"Sammy, I was just having a bit of fun. I mean when you find out your friend turned herself into a cat, you can't just let that go. You have to make some jokes, and then you have to make even more jokes."

"It's nothing I haven't heard before, Sam," Hermione said. "Harry and Ron take the piss over this every time we have more than a few drinks. They were there, and they still think it's the most hilarious thing to have ever happened in the history of the world. So, you can relax a bit."

"Oh, so you're taking his side now?" Sam asked, harshly.

Hermione was taken aback by his tone. "I didn't know there were sides. I thought we were just having fun."

"You're okay with him making fun of our sex life?" Sam bit out.

"I didn't say that," Hermione said, frowning. "However, I am going to say I think you're overreacting a bit about a joke."

Sam scoffed. "Yeah. I mean it's not like we have much of a sex life for him to be making fun of, anyway."

Hermione's jaw dropped, "What?"

"Well, I mean since he came back," Sam said, gesturing to Dean, "We haven't exactly had a robust sex life."

"Well, it's a little hard when you two insist on 'saving money' and only getting one room," Hermione retorted. "I've told you I have the money, we can get two rooms."

"And I've said the same thing," Dean added.

Sam laughed, bitterly. "Sure, blame it on me. It's Sammy's fault that he hasn't had sex with his girlfriend for a few weeks."

"Well, it kind of is," Dean said. "I give you two plenty opportunities to be alone. I'm always going to the local bar to try and get my own tail and a few beers. I thought you guys were going at it like bunnies while I was gone."

Hermione turned toward Dean. This was the first she had heard about this. "Wait, that's what you've been doing? Sam leaves shortly after you do, saying the two of you were meeting with the angels about the seals, and I had to stay behind because they didn't like me."

Dean steered the Impala into a parking spot at the motel they were planning to stay at for the night, before throwing it into park, and then turning to face Hermione. "No," he said. "Why would we meet with the angels in secret? Castiel fucking loves you. I don't know if he has a dick, but if he did, pretty sure he would be permanently hard for you. All I hear is how fucking awesome you are, and that we would surely fail in our mission without you. You have been present for all seal meetings we've had."

Hermione unbuckled her seat belt, and turned around in her seat to face Sam, fully. "Where have you been going? You've been acting weird for weeks."

Sam sighed. "It's none of your business," he said, throwing the door to the car open and getting out.

Hermione didn't hesitate before throwing her own car door open, following him out. "What do you mean it's not my business? Sam, I love you, you're my partner. Of course it's my fucking business."

Sam spun around, and glared at her. "You love me? Really? Then why are you fucking my brother?"

"Whoa, man," Dean said, holding his hands up. "We are not fucking."

"I've seen the two of you together. Whispering, laughing," Sam spit out.

"We're friends," Hermione said, her throat closing up. "I thought you would be happy that we were getting along?"

"Dude, I haven't even thought about sleeping with her," Dean said. "In fact, I'm starting to think of her as just part of the family. Like an annoying little sister or something."

"We're the same age, Dean," Hermione said.

"Yeah, whatever, twin sister then. But I've never once considered trying to get with her. She's with you. She loves you."

"Whatever," Sam said, turning around and walking away, pulling his phone out of his pocket, sending a text message.

"Where are you going?" Hermione cried out.

"Out," Sam said, not even turning around. "Don't worry, you have plenty of time if you want to get in a quickie."

Hermione felt her heart breaking as she watched Sam disappear down the dark road.

"C'mon, Glinda," Dean said, taking her by the elbow and moving her with him down the sidewalk. "Let's find out where he's going and why he's been acting like a fucking asshole lately."

Hermione quickly gathered herself, and tried to keep up with Dean as they stayed a short following distance behind Sam. She pulled out her wand and cast a Muffliato around them, just to make sure they weren't heard by her erratic boyfriend. She didn't know what it was, but ever since they had taken out that vampire enclave a couple months ago, he had slowly started acting weird.

A few weeks ago, when Zachariah had put them in that alternate universe where she had been married to Dean, it only made things worse between them. She had assured him that she didn't harbor any kinds of feelings for Dean, that she didn't know why Zachariah had paired them up in the first place, but things had only grown more tense. Dean didn't help it much when they found Chuck and his books. Dean had immediately found the transcript of their summer together, and starting ribbing Sam about everything. So much so that Sam had gotten back to the motel and shaved his beard. She didn't know what was going on with him, but it was starting to hurt.

Sam turned down an alley, and they followed behind, ducking behind a dumpster when he stopped. She felt Dean kneel down behind her. It helped that the brothers were so much taller than her. It allowed them to take up less space, when he could just easily see over the top of her head.

She watched as Sam was approached by a dark haired woman. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she watched as the woman placed a vial in Sam's hand. He held it up into the light that was mounted on the side of the building, and she could see it was filled with a thick, red, liquid. Blood. Her jaw dropped open as she watched Sam open the vial and down the liquid inside of it. He closed his eyes, and winced, but when he opened them, he looked revitalized. And that's when she started making some connections in her brain. That must have been demon blood. And that means that this woman was Ruby.

She started breathing heavily, as she started putting pieces together. His erratic behavior. The ease in which he was starting to exorcise demons. The anger and mood swings. And then she remembered all those months ago, the deal Ruby wanted to make with Sam for her blood. And she could feel her heart shatter into a million pieces as she watched the man she loved, the one who was supposed to be better than her shitty ex-husband, close the gap between himself and the demon, and kiss her.

She stood up from behind the dumpster, and didn't stop running until she got to the motel, and only then did she let herself fall apart.


	16. Chapter 16

Dean didn't stop running until he reached the motel, at least he hoped that's where he would find Hermione. He had seen her teleport a few times, most notably when she had to go home for a weekend to sign the papers officially ending her marriage. So, he knew she could have just vanished off the face of the earth, but he was really hoping she hadn't. He had questions. So many questions, and he was sure that she had the answers that he wanted.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he found her sitting on the ground next to the Impala, her knees drawn up to her chest, her face buried in them, her shoulders shaking with her sobs. Deciding she wasn't going anywhere, he quickly went into the office, got them a room, and then went back outside.

"Hey," he said, kneeling next to her. "Let's get inside, okay?"

She looked up at him, her face red, tears streaking tracks down her cheeks. She nodded, and Dean helped her up off the ground, and led her to their room. He unlocked the door, and let them inside. As soon as he shut the door, he was startled at the loud noise of a spell making contact with one of the pillows on the bed. He turned around in time to see the feathers making their way back down to the ground, and to see the destruction of another of the pillows.

"Fuck," Dean said.

"He was supposed to be different!" Hermione cried, as she punished another pillow. "I thought he loved me!"

"He does," Dean said. "He loves you so much. I can see it when he looks at you."

She turned toward Dean. "Then why is he cheating on me with a fucking demon?" she yelled, before turning around and blowing up the last of the pillows.

"Demon?" Dean muttered, and then he realized who that must be in the alley. Ruby. "Hey," he said louder, moving toward Hermione, wrapping her in his arms. He felt her tense, before dropping her wand to the ground, and dissolving into sobs.

"What's wrong with me?" she cried into his shoulder, as he held her tightly against him, trying to support her.

"Nothing. There is abso-fucking-lutely nothing wrong with you."

"Then why does everyone I love cheat on me?" she sobbed.

"Well, I can't speak for your asshole ex-husband, but I can speak for my brother and say that something is fucked up with him. Whatever he's doing with Ruby has fucked him up. and he's not acting like himself."

Hermione pulled back from him slightly and looked up at him. "It's the blood. He's taking demon blood. Ruby told him back at the beginning of summer that he needed the blood to make himself stronger to defeat Lilith. We realized that demon blood was addicting, and it would essentially erode his humanity. We made the decision to avoid it, and I developed that potion he takes."

Dean frowned. "If you decided for him to not take the demon blood, why the fuck is he taking it now?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "I honestly don't know. Maybe with the seals breaking so rapidly now, he panicked and thought he needed to do more? That what we're doing isn't good enough?"

"But why would he—" Dean broke off as an idea came to him. "Fuck."

Hermione took a step back from him and looked at him. "What?"

"The fucking angels," Dean said. "Zachariah. They've been coming to me, mostly Castiel, trying to pressure me to take extreme measures to make sure we end this. That we needed Sam to be able to kill Lilith, and we needed to do it by any means necessary. I've sort of just brushed them off, because I've found the angels to be mostly assholes, especially Zachariah after that bullshit he pulled with putting us in that alternative universe. However, what if they've been approaching Sam, too? And they've been planting these seeds of doubt?"

Hermione looked down at the ground, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, a look Dean had come to recognize as her deep in thought look.

"They wanted him to take Ruby's blood," she said. "Do you think Zachariah started planting the idea that we're sleeping together into Sam?"

"I'm sure of it," Dean said, not hesitating. "Remember the alternate world, where we were married? Zachariah set that shit up. And I'm sure that wasn't by accident."

"Oh my god, and Sam walking in on us making out?" Hermione said.

"All designed by that fucking angel," Dean said.

Hermione held her hands up to her mouth, and exhaled. "What are we going to do? The more blood Sam takes, the more his humanity will disappear."

Dean ran his hands through his hair, and looked up at the ceiling. Fucking angels. They had to keep meddling in their business. They had this under control. Why didn't the angels fucking trust them?

"Bobby has a room in his basement. It's a fucking fort. We need to get Sam down there, and detox him. You said this is like a drug, right?"

Hermione nodded. "That's what the books say."

"Then we treat it like a drug addiction. We detox him and when he's in his right mind, we lay into him for being a fucking idiot."

"Do you think it will work?" Hermione asked.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know, but we have to try."

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione sat at the top of the basement stairs listening to Sam screaming behind the door of the safe room. She could feel the tears making their way down her cheeks. Dean was in the room with him right now, so she knew he was safe, but it still hurt her heart to hear Sam in so much pain.

"Hey, Freckles," she heard from behind her. "Let's go get something to eat."

She shook her head and was about to refuse him, but he spoke up again.

"That's not a request," Bobby said.

Hermione stood from the stairs, and followed Bobby into the kitchen where he had made some sandwiches and he set out some beers. She took a seat at the table, and Bobby took the seat next to her.

"He's going to be okay," Bobby said. "He's been through worse, and he made it through in one piece. He's a fighter."

Hermione looked at her sandwich. "What if he doesn't? What if this is the thing that takes him down?"

Bobby reached over and lay his hand over hers. "He will. He's a fighter, and he has something to fight for. He wants to come back to you."

Hermione looked up at Bobby, tears pooling in her eyes. "Does he, though?"

"Of course he does. He loves you. He loves you more than life itself. Just because he was an idjit and believed what those fucking angels said, doesn't take that away. He made some bad choices, and I wouldn't put it past those winged fuckers to have done something to him to make him believe the nonsense they fed him. If he were in his right mind, he wouldn't have done any of this shit."

Hermione nodded. "I want to believe that so bad, but after Ron—"

"You're apprehensive. I get that. Boy do I get that. But in this life you need to be prepared for things like this. The boys have these targets on their backs. They are fucked over more times than not.

"When you showed up on my doorstep almost a year ago, I wasn't sure if you would be able to keep up with the lifestyle of a hunter, and you've proven me wrong, time and time again. You can hold your own in this life. And now you need to be strong for the boys. We need your support more than ever. Because shit is going to hit the fan soon, I just know it."

Hermione nodded.

"Good, because you're one of the strongest people I know, Freckles, and I've come to see you as one of my own, and I don't want to lose you because my boys have been idjits. Let's get through this Lilith shit, and then you can hand Sam's ass to him for being an idiot."

Hermione couldn't help laugh at that. "Okay" She looked down at her sandwich before looking back up at Bobby. "Did I ever tell you what happened to my parents, Bobby?"

Bobby shook his head.

"During the war, I was a target because I was Harry's friend. And just before we went on the run to end the war, I was worried my parents would be targeted by the Death Eaters. So, before I left, I modified their memories," she paused, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. "I erased all their memories of me and replaced them with memories of a different life, and gave them new identities before shipping them off to Australia. They had no idea I even existed. After the war, I tried to reverse it, but I couldn't.

"When I married Ron, I had his parents, but it just wasn't the same. And then I come here. And I met you. And this last year, you have really filled this void in my life. And I've really come to think of you as a father."

Bobby stood up from his seat, and pulled Hermione up with him, wrapping her in a tight embrace, she returned it, burying her face in his flannel covered shoulder. "We're going to fix this, Freckles. Everything is going to work out."

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione sat up from where she had been sleeping on the couch. It took her a minute to break through the sleep induced fog of her brain, but she could hear Dean and Bobby yelling. She swung her feet off the side of the couch, it took her a minute before she was able to stand, and make her way to the basement stairs. Light was shining up and she could see that the door to the safe room was wide open. Jolted awake by the sight, she ran down the stairs into the room, and only found Dean and Bobby inside.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"I don't know," Dean bit out as he paced around the room, agitated.

"What do you mean you don't know? How did he get out? I thought the room was locked and warded?"

"It was," Bobby answered. "We don't know how he got out. But he did, and now he's gone."

"His phone," Dean said. "We can get a location from his phone."

"What if he ditched it?" Bobby said. "Your brother isn't stupid. He would make it so that he couldn't be found."

"I can find him. I can put a tracer on him, and we can follow him."

"Not we, Glinda," Dean said. "Shit is about to get real, and I don't know what the angels have planned, but I don't want you caught in the crosshairs."

"Fuck that, Dean," Hermione said. "I have proven time and again that I can hold my own, you are not benching me."

"I know you can hold your own. I've seen you in action. But, we're heading into the final showdown with Lilith, I can feel it. And all year the angels have been saying how Sam and I are important, fuck, they dragged me out of hell, but not once have they said anything about you. I'm worried the angels are going to use you as leverage, and I can't have that on my conscience. You need to stay here, and watch Bobby's back in case those fuckers come here and try to start something. You let me go get Sam, you watch out for Bobby. I'm not benching you. I'm using you strategically."

Hermione let out a breath, and nodded. He had a point. Fuck him for always being right. "Fine. You bring Sam back to me, okay?"

"I will."

Hermione closed the gap between them, wrapping him into a hug, which he didn't hesitate in returning. "You come back safe, too."

"I will."

The two broke apart, and Hermione moved back to stand next to Bobby, and the two of them watched as Dean left to face the unknown and bring back someone they all loved.

SUPERPOTTER

Sam sat at the edge of the bed in his and Hermione's room at Bobby's. He had caused the apocalypse. Because he was an idiot, and believed the lies Zachariah and Ruby had been feeding him for months. He had broken everyone's trust. And he didn't know how he was going to fix everything.

He looked at Hermione who was currently throwing the clothes she had unpacked in the drawers in the room into her backpack, tears streaming down her cheeks.

He had returned to her, and took full responsibility for his actions. While she was understanding that the angels had fucked with his mind, causing him to make the choices he had made, it didn't make it any better. When he admitted that he had fucked Ruby in one of his drug induced encounters, Hermione just nodded her head, and started packing.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked, his throat tight.

"Home," she said.

"Are we," he swallowed. "Are we finished?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I need some time."

Sam nodded. "How much time?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "All I know is I can't be here in the same room as you right now. I need to put some space between us. Because right now I want to hex you so bad."

"I know," Sam said. "And I can't say how sorry I am. I fucked up. But I'm sorry. I love you."

"And you still fucked another woman," Hermione bit out. "You sat their accusing me and Dean of screwing around behind your back, and yet you're the one who was doing that exact thing!"

"I know," Sam said. "What can I do to make this better?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know."

Sam looked down at his hands and nodded. "Well, I'm willing to do anything to move past this."

"You know what, Sam? When I found out everything that Ron did behind my back, I decided to never let that happen again. That I would never allow a man to make a fool of me again. I met you, and you were supposed to be different. But you're not. You're the same, and here I am, my heart broken all over again."

"You know I was under the influence of the demon blood. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have done any of that. I love you. You're the most important person in my world."

Hermione stopped what she was doing, and stared at him. "I know. I feel the same way, but right now, I can't stand to look at you."

Sam nodded, feeling a tightness in his chest. "I understand."

Hermione zipped up her bag, and put in on her shoulder. "I'll see you soon," she said. And then with a pop, she was gone, and Sam was alone.


	17. Chapter 17

Hermione stood outside the hospital room door and listened morosely as the doctor told Bobby that he would never walk again. Her heart broke for the man who she had come to look at as almost a father figure. She had been back home for about a month, when Dean called her telling her Bobby had been possessed by a demon, and was in intensive care at the hospital. She didn't hesitate coming to his side.

Since she had been back in London, she had thrown herself into closing up her life there. It didn't take her very long to realize she was going to forgive Sam. Bobby had a point that being in the hunting life had certain hazards, and she couldn't hold Sam fully accountable for his actions while being on demon blood and under the influence of those fucking angels. Once she realized she was going to forgive him, she decided she needed to start preparing herself to live in the states permanently.

So she put her notice in to Kingsley, and then she started getting rid of stuff she didn't need and packing stuff she wanted to keep, and tying up any loose ends. She was just starting to think about calling Sam and talking to him when Dean's call came in.

She hadn't seen either of the Winchesters yet, but they were in the room with Bobby. She stood aside to make room for the doctor to leave. Guess it was now or never. She moved to walk into the room, but was stopped when she ran into a broad chest. She looked up to see Sam.

"Hermione?" he said, confused.

"Hi," she replied, giving him a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Dean called me," she said.

Sam turned to look at his brother who came out of the room behind him. Dean just shrugged. "She deserved to know."

"It's not safe," Sam said. "You shouldn't have come."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You don't want me here?"

"I didn't say that. I just said now is not a good time for you to come."

"What are you talking about? Bobby is hurt, I need to be here."

Sam sighed. "Why don't you go in and see Bobby, and then you can go home."

"I am home!" Hermione yelled, unable to control her temper anymore.

Both brothers looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Hermione sighed. "I quit my job and gave up my apartment. This is my home now. With you."

Sam stared at her, trying to process what she was telling him. "You chose me?"

Hermione nodded.

"You forgive me?"

Hermione nodded again.

Before she could react, Sam closed the distance between them, kissing her with everything he had. And Hermione returned it with just as much fervor. She felt Sam's hands running down her back, until they reached her ass, lifting her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist.

"Hey!" Dean said, causing the couple to look up at him. "Can we save the make up sex for not the hallway, and not in front of me? There's a supply closet three doors that way, it probably locks. Glinda, we'll have our happy reunion when you get back."

Before she could get a word in edgewise, she was being carried down the hall, and then they were in the closet, and the door was being closed and locked behind her.

"Fuck, I've missed you," Sam said as he trailed kisses down her neck.

"I've missed you, too," Hermione panted.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

"I know."

"I love you," he said.

"I know."

Sam put her feet back on the ground long enough to pull down her denims and underwear, before working his down enough to free himself. Then she was back up in his arms, pressed against the wall, and he was inside her, and she could just cry. It had been too long since they were together like this. As he moved inside of her it felt like coming home. This was the man she was going to be with forever. It didn't take long for her to fall over the edge, and Sam was following her shortly after. Sam leaned down pressing his forehead to hers as they caught their breath.

"Marry me," Sam whispered to her.

"What?" she asked, unsure she had heard him correctly.

"Marry me," he repeated. "I know you just had your divorce finalized, but we don't have to get married right away, but I know that I can't live without you. You're it for me."

"Yes," Hermione said, before she even realized she was answering.

"Yes?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Hermione repeated. "You're it for me, too."

Sam smiled, and pressed a kiss to her mouth, and squeezed her tight. And for the first time in months, Hermione felt a weight lift off her shoulders and she was truly happy.

SUPERPOTTER

After she cast a cleansing spell on them, Sam led Hermione back to Bobby's hospital room. Dean was standing outside the room talking to Castiel.

"Hey," Sam said, approaching them, Hermione right behind him. "Are you going to fix Bobby?"

Cas shook his head. "I can't. I've been demoted due to the fact that I went against the plan the angels have set forth. But I can do this."

Castiel held his hand out and a light shown, encompassing both he and Hermione.

"There," he said. "You're both now hidden from the angels."

"Tell them what you told me," Dean said.

"Lucifer is out. And he's going to be looking for his vessel. Which is you," Cas said, looking at Sam.

"What?" Sam asked, confused.

"You're Lucifer's vessel," Cas said.

"How do you know?"

"Same way he knows that I'm Michael's vessel. It has been foretold. It's the whole reason Cas brought me out of Hell. So I could be some meat suit for some apocalyptic bullshit," Dean said.

"Well, it's not going to happen," Sam said, definitively. "I'm not going to agree to let Lucifer come into my body. No way."

"I figured as much," Cas said. "That's why I burned those symbols into your ribs. This should keep you guys under the radar for a little bit while we figure out how to get Lucifer back into the cage."

"Do you think we would be able to do it?" Hermione asked.

"We have an angel connected to angel radio, two of the best hunters to have ever existed and a witch," Dean said. "Wait, we do have a witch right? You're sticking around for a bit?"

Hermione smiled. "I'm actually going to be sticking around permanently, if you'll have me. I gave up my flat while I was back home."

Dean let out a whoop of excitement and rushed over, picking her up and spinning her around. "Best news all day, Glinda. Hell, best news all week." He put her down and then turned toward Sam. "Don't fuck this up this time."

Sam laughed, raising his hands up in surrender. "I don't plan on it."

"Good, because I love Hermione, she's family, and plus we could use all the manpower we can get with Lucifer and Michael and the impending apocalypse."

"You mean a typical year for the two of you?" Hermione said with a smile.

"Hey," Dean said, turning to her. "I don't need any sass from you. I need ideas on where to start solving this problem."

"Don't look at me," she said. "Evil soul less wizard, I can help you. The literal devil? Not my expertise."

"Do you think you have anything that could help? In any of your texts?" Sam asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I honestly don't know. However, I do have my complete library in my back pack. When we get back to Bobby's, I'll unpack and we can add them to the multitudes of texts he has, and I'm sure we can find something of use."

SUPERPOTTER

"Motherfucker!"

Hermione looked up from where she was reading on a chair in Bobby's living room. After much discussion and debate, it was decided that Hermione would stay with Bobby and help him adjust to his new lifestyle in the wheelchair, since she had more patience, and Bobby tolerated her more, and the boys had left to follow a lead with Castiel. So far things had been quiet, but she could tell Bobby was unhappy. He was not adjusting well to being in a wheelchair. Not one bit. And he refused to take any help from her.

She set aside her book, and then walked into the kitchen to see Bobby on the ground, his wheelchair on its side, the wheel still spinning.

She walked over and knelt down next to him. "Are you all right?" she asked quietly.

Bobby had his eyes closed, and was laying flat on his back. She could tell that he was trying to reel in his emotions, to not show weakness in front of her.

"Bobby," she said, sitting on the floor next to him, placing her hand on his cheek. "Talk to me."

"They've taken everything from me," Bobby said in a whisper.

"Who?"

"Fucking demons. First they took my wife, and then they fucked with my boys, and now they've taken my legs. What do I have left?"

"Me," Hermione said. "You have me. And the boys."

Bobby opened his eyes and looked at her, unshed tears lining his eyes. "You all will be on the road most of the time, fighting off Lucifer and his minions. You can't be here to take care of me all the time. I'm alone and crippled and useless."

"The boys and I may be out on the road, but this is still our home. We will still come back here. I've told you you're like a father to me. I love you, Bobby. And you're absolutely not useless. We need you here researching and sending us on leads. And to be here to catch us when the shit eventually hits the fan."

"I can't even cook myself breakfast."

"I've offered to make some changes around here for you," Hermione answered. "You've refused me every time."

"I don't need you breaking your back to make changes to my house. I'll be fine."

Hermione sighed. "Witch, remember?" she pulled out her wand and lowered the counters about a foot. "Does that seem like I exerted myself too much?"

Bobby looked at the counters in awe. "No," he said, begrudgingly.

"Good, now will you please let me add a ramp to the stairs so you don't have to sleep on your lumpy couch?" Hermione asked.

"If you must," Bobby answered, struggling to maneuver himself into a seated position.

Hermione moved so that she could wrap her arms around Bobby's middle and lay her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I can't wave my wand and fix you."

Bobby sighed, and rested his cheek against her head. "Don't you be feeling sorry about that, Freckles. I know you have magic, but I don't expect you to work miracles." He moved his hand to run his fingers along the raised scar on her forearm. "If you could make miracles, I would suspect you wouldn't have this. I'm just glad that you stayed behind with me. I don't know what I would do if I were left here alone with all these feelings."

Hermione tightened her arms around him, giving him a squeeze. "After the war I saw the same look in many of my friends' eyes that I saw in yours. I knew I couldn't just leave you alone to your own devices. Besides, if we were all out on the road who would be doing the tedious research into Biblical lore?"

Bobby laughed. "Me."

Hermione laughed. "You're right. Well, at least now you have company doing it. What do you say? Done feeling sorry for yourself yet? Care to help me dredge through all of these books?"

Bobby sighed dramatically, "I guess, if I must."

Hermione stood from the floor, and helped Bobby back into his chair before leading the way into the living room so they could try and find a way to get Lucifer back into the cage without having to sacrifice either of her boys.


	18. Chapter 18

"What do you mean you're going to say yes?" Hermione exclaimed in the motel room, looking between Sam and Dean. She couldn't believe what she was hearing right now.

"I'm going to say yes," Sam repeated. "It's the only way to end this. We have a plan. We can open up the cage, and we can put Lucifer in it, ending all of this once and for all."

"But, what about you? Won't you end up in the cage, too?" Hermione asked, hating how her voice shook as she spoke.

Both boys had the decency to look at their feet.

Hermione felt the tears spring to her eyes. Her heart felt like it was breaking in half. "What about us?" she asked, unable to keep the pain out of her voice. "I gave up my life for you. I gave up my job for you. We were going to be together, we were…" she broke off in a sob.

"I'm just going to, uh," Dean said, before walking toward the door. As he walked past her, he squeezed her shoulder. She looked up at him, and could see the pain in his eyes, too. He didn't want any of this to happen, either. Dean moved past her, exiting the room, leaving her alone with Sam.

Sam finally looked up from the floor, and she could see the pain in his eyes. This wasn't a decision he came to lightly. He was hurting as well. "Hermione, I love you so much, and I don't want you to think that I didn't consider you when I came to this decision. Because I did. I so did. But I have to weigh everything. I can end this. I can put Lucifer in the cage and end this fight. But I have to sacrifice myself in order to do it. And it sucks, so much, because I was really looking forward to my future with you. These past two years they've been…" he trailed off, his voice catching.

Hermione nodded, acknowledging that she knew what he was trying to say, even if he couldn't say it. "They've been amazing," she finished for him.

Sam nodded, wiping his hands down his face. "But I can't just let the world burn, let Lucifer run free, if there is something I can do about it."

Hermione nodded again, "You're right, it's not in your nature."

"It's not."

"How long?" Hermione asked, her voice breaking.

"Not long. I want to do this quickly."

"What are the chances that you'll be able to get only Lucifer in the cage, and not you?"

"Dean and I figure there's a small chance that I'll be able to break free of him," Sam said.

"I don't know how I'm going to be able to watch," Hermione said.

"Then don't. Don't come. Stay as far away from the mess as possible. Dean said he would come and get you when it's all over. That you don't need to watch when I…"

Hermione started opening sobbing, and Sam closed the gap between them, holding her tightly against his body as she cried against his chest. She felt as Sam buried his face in her curls and began crying into them as well. They held each other tightly, both crying for a long time. When their sobs finally subsided, Hermione pulled back and captured his lips with her own.

Sam returned the kiss passionately, his arms coming around and lifting her up and moving her until they were sprawled on the bed. Not wanting to waste any time, Hermione muttered a wandless divesto, leaving them both naked and wanting. Sam immediately entered her, and they froze. Sam looked down in her eyes, and then the mood shifted from desperation to something else. He began to make love to her slowly, never taking his eyes off of hers, never shifting his gaze. Hermione could feel the love pouring through his gaze, and she could feel herself getting closer and closer to the edge as he moved within her. She could tell that he was getting closer as well, because he began to increase his pace. Soon, she was tumbling over the edge struggling to keep her eyes open and focused on Sam. Soon, he followed her over, also making sure to keep his gaze on Hermione.

After, they lay together under the covers on the bed, holding each other close. Hermione refused to close her eyes, for fear that he would try and leave in the middle of the night. But soon, she succumbed to sleep. When she awoke, many hours later, he was already gone. And she fell apart.

SUPERPOTTER

Hermione sat at Bobby's house, alone. Bobby had left to join the boys on their mission, and she chose to stay behind. They had left her behind, which really pissed her off at first, but she decided she really didn't want to see Lucifer in Sam's body. She really didn't. She didn't think she could bear seeing her love that way. Not himself. And she didn't want to hear whatever Lucifer was going to spew at her through Sam's lips. She loved Sam too much to put herself through that. If Sam ended up going into the pit, she didn't want the last thing she had to remember him by to be vitriol that came from Lucifer.

Right now, she was sitting impatiently watching the clock. She had been getting sick in the mornings for the last few days since she had arrived at Bobby's house, and she chalked it up to nerves. It had been a few weeks since she had seen the boys, she was obviously worried about them. And then she skipped her period. Which never happened. She was as regular as clockwork. Panicking, she had walked down the road that morning to get a pregnancy test from the local drug store. And now, here she sat. Waiting. She could have used a charm, but she didn't even think about it until she had peed on the stick. Spending the last two years living mostly in the muggle world had really started to affect her.

After what felt like an eternity the timer she set beeped, and she took a deep breath, picking up the pregnancy test. She nearly dropped it when she saw the result. Positive. She wasn't supposed to be able to get pregnant. All the healers told her. All the specialists. And now she was and the father of her baby was currently possessed by the literal devil. What the fuck was her life?

She started crying. What was she going to do? She took a deep breath and picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. As she suspected it rang through to voicemail. She dialed another number, and it also went to voicemail. She looked at her phone. Finally she dialed one final number. It got picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Freckles, now's not a really good time. Shit is starting to go down. Cas and I just pulled up to the field."

"Fuck," Hermione muttered under her breath. "Okay, give me a few minutes and…"

"NO, Freckles, Sam is still Lucifer, and from what I can see he's beating the shit out of Dean. You need to stay far away from this place. Do not come here, do you understand? I'll call you when it's all over. Understand?"

"Understand," Hermione said, not completely convinced that she needed to stay away.

"Good," Bobby said. "Now, I'll call you when this is all finished."

The connection between the two cut off, and Hermione was left holding her phone. It was happening. Sam was obviously still Lucifer if he was beating up Dean. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She should really stay away. Nothing good would come if she went now. And she really needed to be careful now that she was living for two people. On the other hand, she was now living for two people. Maybe if she went to him, she could get through to him, and he would be able to expel Lucifer from his body, and he would be able survive this whole mess to see his child into the world.

It took her ten minutes to finally come to the conclusion that she was going to go ahead and go and try and rescue the love of her life. She closed her eyes, and touched her wand to her engagement ring. She felt the tugging in her belly as the charmed portkey pulled her to where Sam was located.

She landed and caught her bearings. She looked around and found the Impala and began running toward it and stopped short. Bobby was on the ground, his neck twisted at a weird angle. Dean was leaning against the Impala, his face bleeding. And then she saw him. Sam. Her Sam. She could tell it was her Sam because he was looking at Dean with a sadness. She watched as he dropped the horsemen rings to the ground and the cage opened up. Sam opened his arms up and was prepared to fall into the pit.

She sprinted forward. "NO!" she screamed.

Sam looked up at her, his eyes widening. "Hermione?"

But she didn't have time to respond. Adam popped up and said something to Sam and then they were both toppling into the pit. Hermione watched on in horror as Sam, as if in slow motion, fell into the pit, and in a blink of an eye, the pit closed, and there was nothing.

Hermione felt her knees give out from under her, and she fell to the ground. She clutched her hands to her chest and she let out a wail. Her heart felt like it was being crushed. She was startled as she felt arms wrap around her, pulling her close. She recognized Dean as the one holding her. His body shaking with sobs as well.

She closed her eyes tight.

"I tried," Dean was saying. "I tried, and I got through to him in the end, and it still wasn't enough to save him. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Hermione heard herself saying. "He made his choice. We both knew this was a probable outcome."

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean it hurts any less," Dean said, his words coming out jumbled because of his injuries. Hermione pulled out her wand and muttered a healing spell at his face.

"Thank you," Dean said.

"You're welcome," Hermione said.

"Why did you show up? How did you know?"

"I called Bobby," her voice catching on the man's name. "He told me. He also told me to not come. But you know how well I listen."

"Like shit. We need to work on your listening skills."

The two were quiet for a few minutes, just holding each other.

"I'm pregnant," Hermione whispered. "What am I going to do?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"Shit," Dean muttered. "We'll figure this out. You won't be alone. That I can promise you. You won't be alone."

Hermione nodded. It made her feel a lot better knowing she wouldn't be going through this alone.

"Yes, Hermione, you won't be doing this alone," came a voice from behind them. They looked up to see Castiel walking toward them.

"Cas?" Dean asked. "But I saw you get blown to a million tiny bits."

"I was resurrected by God, and I was given a promotion," Cas said. He turned toward Bobby's lifeless body, and waved his hand. The older man sat up, gasping for breath. Hermione just about wept in happiness.

"What the fuck happened?" Bobby ground out.

"You were dead," Dean supplied. "And Cas just fucking resurrected you."

"Well, shit," Bobby said. He looked around the area they were in. "Where's Sam?"

Hermione began crying, and Dean wrapped her back up in his arms. "He's gone. He went into the pit," she said through her sobs.

"Well, Mr. Resurrection, bring him back! You brought Dean out of Hell, you can bring back Sam," Bobby shouted.

Cas shook his head sadly. "It's not that easy. Dean was in Hell. Sam is locked in the cage. I can't just pull him out like I did Dean. He's gone."

Hermione felt her heart breaking all over again, and she was vaguely aware of Dean tightening his hold around her.

"You're going to be okay, you both are," Dean told her.

"Both?" Bobby asked.

"Hermione is with child," Cas stated.

"You're going to continue living with me," Bobby said. "I'm not going to take no for an answer."

Hermione looked up at him. "What if I wanted to move home? Be close to family?"

"Fuck, Freckles, we are your family!" Bobby exclaimed. "You've been here for two years, I look at you like you're a daughter. Let us be a part of your life. Help you through your grief as we go through ours. Let us help you raise your little one."

Hermione nodded. She didn't have the words to properly respond.

"Great," Dean said. "Let's get to Baby and go home."


	19. Epilogue

TWO YEARS LATER

"Bobby, did you get more diapers when you went to the store earlier?" Hermione shouted down from upstairs.

"He did!" Dean answered back. "Give me a second, and I'll run them up there to you!"

Dean walked into the kitchen and picked up the box of diapers from the table. Being an uncle was probably one of the best things that had happened to him. He loved being a part of Hermione and his niece's life. He still went out on hunts, but he didn't travel too far from home. He didn't have the luxury of apparition like Hermione did. Now that his niece was over a year old, and Bobby was a lot more comfortable with her, Hermione was planning to start going back out on the road with him occasionally. Staying home and being mom was a nice change for her, but he could tell she was getting antsy to get back out into the field rather than researching. It had been almost two years since she had been on a hunt, having benched herself once she was pregnant, but since she could easily apparate out of danger, she was confident she could start hunting again. And he had to admit, he was anxious to get her back on the road with him.

Since Sam had been gone, it was really lonely out on the road by himself. He tried to give up hunting at the beginning. Live a domestic life with Bobby and Hermione. But he couldn't do it. After a month Hermione was shoving him out the door with cases in hand. He never stayed on the road long, though, always returning back home as soon as possible. And there was a period where Hermione was almost about to pop and then his niece's first couple months where he didn't leave at all. Those were probably some of his favorite times.

His niece was the spitting image of her father, and that at first felt like someone was stabbing him in the chest, but then after a while it became a comfort. To know even though his brother was gone, he could still see an almost carbon copy of his face every day. And when Hermione chose her name, Samantha, that was the icing on the cake.

He was about to head up the stairs when there was a knock on the door. He set the diapers down on the bottom stair and made his way to the front door instead. He threw it open, and grew angry. He reached into his pocket, and threw his flask of Holy Water onto the person in front of him. The man didn't even flinch.

"Dean, it's me."

"Fuck off," Dean said, pulling out his sliver blade.

"Seriously, it's me."

And then Dean lunged forward and sliced the copy of his brother's arm in front of him with the silver blade.

SUPERPOTTER

Sam winced as the blade sliced through his skin. Of course his brother wouldn't believe that he was who he said he was. It had been a long time. He wouldn't fault him for being suspicious.

"Are you done yet?" Sam asked.

"Who are you?"

"It's me, Dean, it's Sam."

Dean stopped and stared at him. Really started at him. It took him a minute. A solid minute before he crumbled before his brother. "Sammy?"

"It's me."

"What? How is this possible?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know all I know is that I wasn't down there for long."

"What do you mean?"

"I…" Sam cut off, looking around Dean through the wide open door. Standing behind him was a toddler, for lack of a better word, toddling toward them.

"Dee!" the little girl squealed as she made her way toward his brother.

Dean bent down and scooped her up. "Hey, nugget. Did you make it down those stairs all by yourself? You're such a big girl!"

The little girl wrapped her arms around Dean's neck and squeezed. Dean squeezed her back. Sam stood there staring. Then, the girl turned and looked at him, and his heart stopped. There was no mistake. It was like looking at his own baby pictures, what little of them there were. He felt his chest tighten and his throat constrict as tears filled his eyes.

"Where's Hermione?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the little girl.

"Upstairs, I think. Our morning has been a little hectic. They usually are the day or so after I get back from a job. Combine that with Bobby out on a call, and then our routine falls apart."

"Grampa!" the little squealed at the mention of Bobby.

"Yes, Grampa is working today, he'll be back later," Dean said, his voice soft.

"How old is she?" Sam asked.

"Almost a year and a half," Dean answered.

"What's her name?"

Before Dean could answer he could hear Hermione calling from inside.

"Sammy?" he heard, "Love, did you make it down here? Dean have you seen…" she stopped as she came up to the door and caught sight of Sam. She brought her hand to her chest, and exhaled loudly. "Is it…"

"Yes," Dean said.

"You tested him?"

"I did."

"It's really you?" she asked.

"It's really me," Sam answered.

Hermione crumbled in front of him before closing the distance between them and throwing herself into his arms. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight to his body, breathing in her scent. It had been too long.

"I must be dreaming," she murmured into his neck.

"Not dreaming, I'm really here."

"C'mon, Sammy," he heard Dean saying in the background, "let's go get some breakfast and leave mommy and daddy to catch up." And then a little louder, "I expect to be caught up on what happened and how you got out later."

Left alone the two pulled apart.

"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" Sam asked.

"I was going to the day," she took a breath, swallowing hard. "They day you…"

"Fuck," Sam said. "I remember seeing you. Just before I…" he trailed off, his voice breaking. "But it was too late."

"Bobby called me and told me where you guys were. He had hoped I would be able to get through Lucifer to you. But I was too late."

"And you've been here? Since…"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah. Bobby insisted. And Dean. They didn't want me to go through this alone. They said I was family. And family sticks together."

"You got Dean to settle down?"

"Well, not exactly settle down. He still goes out on jobs, he just comes back here in between, and doesn't travel too far. In fact, we were just talking about me starting to go out on jobs every once in a while again."

"Wow," Sam said. "If I had known about our…our daughter," he said, "I would have come back sooner."

Hermione stood up straighter, "What do you mean sooner? How long have you been out of the cage?"

Sam pursed his lips. This was the part he had been dreading. "I was actually not in the cage as long as you probably think I was."

"How long?" Hermione repeated.

"It's been two years," Sam said, quietly.

"Two—" Hermione said, closing her eyes. "Two years? That's like since you were put in the cage."

"Yeah, I was brought out almost immediately."

"If you were brought out almost immediately, then why haven't you been around?" Hermione shouted.

"Because there was something not right!" Sam shouted back.

Hermione stared at him. "What?"

"When I got out, there was something not right with me. And it turned out that I was brought back without my soul. So I spent the last two years trying to get it back."

"And did you?" Hermione asked. "Get your soul back?"

Sam nodded. "I did. And as soon as I did, I came right back here, hoping that Bobby would know where you were. So the fact that you're here, and I have a daughter, it's just so much better than I thought it would be."

"Samantha," Hermione said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Samantha, that's our daughter's name. I named her after you, because you were gone. And I wanted to honor your memory. So…Samantha Mary Winchester. Dean immediately nicknamed her Sammy, and that's what has stuck."

"I like it. I like it a lot. But I thought you couldn't have kids? What happened?"

Hermione smiled. "Well, I could get pregnant, but the pregnancy normally wouldn't progress. Apparently, Castiel got some promotion? So he helped me so that I wouldn't lose the baby this time."

"Wow," Sam said. "Divine intervention."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, it's truly a blessing. Harder than anything I've ever done, but a blessing."

"Are you mad at me?" Sam asked.

"I should be."

Sam looked crestfallen.

"But," Hermione continued. "I think it would have been worse to have you here, but not have you, which is what I suspect it would have been like if you had come back right away, and so, I understand. I understand what you did. And right now I'm just too fucking happy that you're here."

Sam smiled, and then closed the gap between them, enveloping her in a kiss. Which she returned with a passion. After a few minutes they pulled apart.

"Want to go meet your daughter?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I would love to," Sam answered, just as quietly.

Hermione reached out for his hand, and led Sam into his future. His soul finally whole and renewed.


End file.
